THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


f 


CHILD  LITE.        LITTLE  LILLY'S  TRAVELS, 


D.&OT'HROP 


LITTLE  LILY'S  TRAVELS 


FKANCE  TO   SWITZERLAND. 


Boston: 
Published  by  (D.  Mottirop  &  Co. 

(Dover,  Jf.H. :  G.  T.  (Day  &  Co. 


CONTENTS. 


FAOK 
CHAPTER  I. 

THE  DEPARTURE— THE  ILLUMINATION  — THE  DILIGENCE     .     5 

CHAPTER  II. 
ORGON— A  SISTER  OF  CHARITY  — LITTLE  JOSEPH    ...    10 

CHAPTER  III. 
THE  DURANCE  — THE  CLOUD  —  AVIGNON     .....   17 

CHAPTER  IV. 
A  LITTLE  BOY  BETTER  THAN  MOST  BOYS     «       ....   25 

CHAPTER  V. 
THE  SIROCCO — THE  SIMOOM — THE  ARABS  .       .       .       .       .    30 

CHAPTER  VI. 
A  DANGEROUS  LANDING  AT  AVIGNON  ......   40 

CHAPTER  VII. 
THE  STEAMER 46 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  SANDBANK 62 

CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  LETTER  -THE  PASSAGE  OF  THE  BRIDGE  OF  ST.  ESPRIT 
—  THE  Pa  JOT •..'...    60 

CHAPTER  X. 
THE  INUNDATION .....71 


4  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XI. 
THE  SPEAKING-TRUMPET  —  RECOLLECTIONS  —  THE  FAIR        .   79 

CHAPTER  XII. 
A  FISHER  OF  TO-DAY,  AND  A  FISHER  LONG  AGO     .      .       .87 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
THE  BARGE— »  THE  MEETING  OF  THE  RHONE  AND  THE  ISERE   96 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
THE  RAFTS 106 

CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  BRIDGE  AND  THE  FERRY-BOATS     .      .      .      .      .      .111 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
THE  MOUNTAINS 121 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
THE  FARMHOUSE 129 

CHAPTER  XVHI. 
A  LETTER  TO  A  FRIEND 136 

CHAPTER  XLX. 
VIENNE  — CHARCOAL— COALS 141 

CHAPTER  XX. 
THE  SHIPWRECK  —  LYONS        ........  149 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE  JOURNEY  FROM  LYONS  — THE  LAKE  OF  NANTUA  — THE 
FIR  BRANCHES .      .      .      .166 

CHAPTER  XXII. 
THE  FIR-TREE'S  STORY —THE  PINE-TREE —THE  TRAVELLERS  168 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  LITTLE  BEGGAR  GIRL  — THE  FORTRESS  OF  L'ECLUSE— 
SWITZERLAND .178 


LITTLE  LIIFS  TRAVELS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE    DEPARTURE THE    ILLUMINATION THE 

DILIGENCE. 

"WE  must  make  haste.  Nine  o'clock 
is  just  going  to  strike.  The  coach  will  be 
off.  Put  on  Lily's  and  Francis'  travelling 
hats,  and  take  this  basket  of  provisions. 
Francis  would  not  like  it  left  behind. 
Harry,  my  boy,  you  are  setting  out  on  your 
first  journey,  but  you  do  not  look  ai  if  you 
cared  much.  May  God  watch  over  us  all 
this  night. 

"  Come,  we  must  be  off.  Here  we  are  in 
the  street ;  the  door  of  the  house  is  shut. 
Adieu,  dear  house,  where  we  have  received 
such  a  kind  welcome.  Adieu,  kind  friends ; 
we  are  going  away  far  from  you,  but  we 

5 


6  THE    ILLUMINATION. 

shall  never  forget  you.  And  Carlo,  our 
travelling  companion,  what  has  become  of 
him  ?  He  has  been  left  in  the  house ; 
listen  to  his  barking.  I  shall  go  and 
unchain  him.  Oh,  how  he  leaps  for  joy 
and  runs  to  the  children !  he  is  looking 
for  all  his  old  friends.  Yes,  Carlo,  we  are 
all  here." 

"  O  papa,  what  beautiful  lights  ! " 

"  Yes,  my  darling,  there  is  an  illumina- 
tion this  evening." 

"  I  see  trees  burning.  " 

"  The  lamps  are  hung  on  the  trees. 
There  is  a  row  of  them  on  both  sides  of  the 
street.  We  shall  pass  down  between  them." 

"  What  crowds  of  people  !  How  bright 
the  lights  are  ! " 

"  There  are  lights  all  round  us ;  but  as 
you  are  too  little  to  see  over  the  heads  of 
all  these  people,  I  shall  take  you  up  in  my 
arms.  There  is  a  long  row  of  lights,  you 
see. " 

"  Yes,  and  there  are  lights  in  the  sky 
too." 


THE    DILIGENCE.  1 

"  But  the  lights  in  the  sky  are  not  at  all 
like  the  lights  on  the  earth.  The  ones 
near  us  burn  only  for  a  short  time.  You 
see  a  great  many  have  gone  out  already, 
and  there  is  a  man  coming  with  a  long  reed 
in  his  hand  to  light  them  again.  Yesterday 
there  were  no  lights  to  be  seen  here,  and 
to-morrow  there  will  be  none  ;  but  the 
stars,  the  lights  in  the  sky,  will  shine  as 
they  are  doing  now.  It  is  God  who  has 
placed  them  high  up  there,  and  he  will 
also  make  a  glorious  sun  to  rise  to-morrow 
morning  to  light  us  on  our  journey. 

46  Ah !  here  we  have  at  last  arrived  at  the 
coach-office.  Take  care  !  " 

"  Where  are  all  these  people  running 
to1?  There  are  some  soldiers." 

"  Ah !  it  is  the  prince  ;  the  town  has 
been  lighted  up  for  him." 

"  That  he  may  see  well  ?  " 

"  No,  my  dear,  the  people  wish  to  show 
him  that  they  are  happy  to  see  him  again . 
He  has  just  come  back  from  a  country  far 
away  over  the  sea." 


8  THE    DILIGENCE. 

"  He  must  be  very  tired." 

"  I  daresay  lie  is  tired,  but  he  will  soon 
forget  it  when  he  sees  the  people  so  happy 
to  see  him.  But  now  the  crowd  have  all 
run  after  him,  and  we  must  get  into  the 
coach.  Now,  children,  give  a  last  kiss  to 
the  friends  who  have  been  so  kind  to  you. 

Adieu,  dear  friends  ;  remember  the  trav- 
ellers in  your  prayers.  Coachman,  put 
Carlo  on  the  top ;  don't  be  afraid,  he  is  as 
gentle  as  a  lamb.  Wait  one  moment, 
here's  my  cloak  to  cover  him.  We  are  off 
at  last ! 

"  But  is  that  not  Carlo's  bark  ?  The 
poor  dog  has  not  seen  us,  and  perhaps 
thinks  we  are  left  behind.  He  wants  to 
get  back  to  us.  What  makes  him  howl  in 
that  pitiful  way "?  Now  he  has  jumped 
from  the  top  of  the  coach  to  the  road! 
Oh,  I  am  afraid  the  wheels  will  hurt  him ! 
Stop,  driver !  Carlo,  Carlo !  we  are  here. 
There  he  is,  standing  up  at  the  coach  door 
wagging  his  tail.  He  knows  us.  Coach 


THE    DILIGENCE.  9 

man,  you  may  drive  on ;  he  will  be  quiet 
now,  because  he  knows  we  are  here. 

"  See  what  crowds  of  people !  The 
coachman  is  always  calling  out,  '  Take 
care,  take  care  ! '  Many  of  them  I  dare  say, 
in  passing  will  be  pitying  us  travellers  going 
away  from  all  that  amuses  them  so  much. 
What  do  you  think  of  it,  children  ?  Would 
you  rather  be  walking  in  the  streets  than 
driving  away  1 " 

"  No,  because  we  wish  to  go  to  Geneva. " 

"  You  like  to  go  and  they  like  to  stay ; 

that  is  just  as  it  should  be.     We  have  left 

behind  us  the  lights  and  the  crowd,  and  we 

shall  hear  nothing  now  but  the  rumbling 

• 

of  the  wheels  and  the  sound  of  the  horses' 
feet  upon  the  road.  " 

"  Are  we  at  Geneva  yet "? " 

"  Oh !  not  yet,  dear ;  but  don't  be  afraid, 
we  shall  be  there  in  good  time." 

"  How  cold  the  air  feels  !  " 

"  Put  on  your  cloak,  and  lay  your  head 
on  my  knee  and  go  to  sleep.  " 


CHAPTERII. 

ORGON A   SISTER   OF    CHARITY LITTLE 

JOSEPH. 

"  MY  dear  children,  it  is  daylight  and 
you  are  still  asleep.  They  do  not  hear  me. 
They  are  tired,  and  we  must  not  awake 
them.  You  are  sleeping  peacefully,  be- 
cause you  are  with  your  parents  ;  and  they 
have  no  fear,  because  they  know  that  God 
takes  care  of  them. 

•"  While  we  are  going  on  our  journey 
the  sun  is  rising.  There  he  is  appearing 
above  that  hill.  He  will  soon  awake  the 
children ;  one  of  his  bright  rays  shines  into 
the  diligence,  and  plays  upon  Lily's  face. 
Little  Lily  rubs  her  eyes,  opens  them  and 
shuts  them  again,  because  the  light  is  too 
strong." 

10 


A    SISTER   OF    CHARITY.  11 

"  Where  are  we,  papa  ?  " 

"  A  long  way  from  Marseilles.  "We 
have  been  driving  on  and  on  all  night." 

"  Then  the  poor  horses  must  be  very 
tired." 

"  The  horses  we  have  now  are  not  the 
ones  with  which  we  set  off.  We  have 
changed  horses  three  times  while  you  have 
been  sleeping,  and  now  we  are  going  to 
change  again,  for  we  have  arrived  at  Orgon, 
another  stage  on  our  journey.  See,  they 
are  taking  out  the  horses  to  let  them  get  a 
rest  as  soon  as  possible.  There  are  our 
fresh  ones  ;  they  are  not  tired,  they  have 
been  all  night  in  a  comfortable  stable." 

"  What  lady  is  that  coming  to  us  ?  " 

"  It  is  a  sister  of  charity." 

"  Why  is  she  called  a  sister  ?  " 

"  She  calls  herself  a  sister  of  charity, 
because  she  goes  about  visiting  and  attend- 
ing to  sick  people  as  if  they  were  her 
brothers  and  sisters  — just  as  Lily  would 
nurse  Francis  if  he  were  sick,  or  Francis 
Lily." 


12  LITTLE   JOSEPH. 

"Her  dress  is  all  black." 

"  Yes,  all  the  women  who  call  themselves 
sisters  of  charity  wear  these  strange  dresses  ; 
but  we  may  love  and  be  kind  to  the  sick  with- 
out having  an  odd,  ugly  dress.  The  dress  is 
nothing ;  it  is  the  kind  heart  that  is  wanted. 
Neither  Francis  nor  Lily  have  a  black 
dress,  or  a  white  hood;  but  if  they  are 
loving  children,  and  wish  to  be  kind,  they 
may  do  something  to  help  their  poor  broth- 
ers and  sisters,  even  though  they  are  little 
children.  How  many  brothers  have  you  T 

«  Two." 

"  And  you  \ " 

\ 
"  A  brother  and  a  sister." 

"  Ah !  God  has  given  you  a  great  many 
more." 

"  And  where  are  they  1 " 

"  They  are  all  the  little  children  in  the 
world." 

"  Do  you  see  that  little  boy  on  the 
load?" 

"  Is  that  a  brother  ? " 


LITTLE    JOSEPH.  13 

"  I  do  not  know  him." 

"  He  has  got  no  shoes  on." 

"  His  hands  are  dirty." 

"  Ah !  that  is  because  he  is  poor." 

"  He  gathers  rags  in  the  road  and  sells 
them  to  buy  bread." 

"  Do  you  know  who  has  created  him  1 " 

«  The  good  God." 

"And  you?" 

"  The  good  God." 

"  And  where  has  God  placed  him]  " 

"  On  the  earth." 

"And  you?" 

"  On  the  earth  too." 

"  And  who  does  the  earth  belong  to  ?  " 

"  To  God." 

"  So  then  this  little  boy  and  you  live 
together  in  God's  house  ;  and  the  same  sun 
which  shines  into  our  diligence  warms  his 
bare  feet;  the  same  rain  falls  upon  him 
and  upon  you  ;  the  same  stars  which  shine 
at  night  over  our  head  shine  over  his  ;  and 
one  day  both  you  and  he,  if  you  love  God. 
will  meet  in  heaven." 


14  LITTLE    JOSEPH. 

"  Papa,  may  I  speak  to  him  ? " 

"  Perhaps  he  would  not  answer  you.  I 
had  better  speak  to  him  first." 

"  Little  boy,  will  you  go  to  the  other  side 
of  the  ditch  for  a  blue  flower  which  I  see 
there,  and  get  it  for  my  little  girl  ?  There 
is  a  yellow  one,  too,  a  little  further  off, 
which  I  would  like  you  to  bring  for  my 
little  boy. 

"  He  sees  what  I  want,  and  is  off  at 
once.  See  how  he  runs.  There  he  is 
coming  back  already  with  the  flowers. 
Come  upon  the  step,  my  little  fellow;  the 
diligence*  is  not  yet  ready  to  start.  What 
pretty  flowers  !  Lily,  here  is  yours." 

tfc  And  mine,  papa  ?  " 

"  There  it  is  ;  they  are  still  wet  with  the 
morning  dew." 

"  What  is  your  name  1 "  . 

"  Joseph." 

"  Don't  go  down  yet.  I  am  sure  these 
children  would  like  to  give  you  something 

*  A  diligence  is  the  name  of  a  French  stage-coach. 


LITTLE    JOSEPH.  15 

for  the  beautiful  flowers  you  have  brought 
them.  Would  you  not,  dears  I  " 

"  Yes  !  yes !  " 

"  Let  us  see.  What  will  you  give 
him  1 " 

"  Some  of  our  toys." 

"  Then,  come  here  to  the  door,  that  you 
may  give  them  yourselves." 

"  Put  your  hand  into  this  basket,  Jo- 
seph, and  choose  what  you  like ;  don't  be 
afraid." 

"  He  has  taken  my  beautiful  horse  !  I 
don't  wish  him  to  take  it  away !  I  don't 
wish  it ! " 

"  Joseph,  will  you  give  him  back  his 
horse  ?  I  am  very  sorry  that  my  little  boy 
should  be  so  unkind  to  you,  after  you  have 
been  so  kind  to  him." 

"  Papa,  I  will  let  him  have  it." 

"  Very  well.  Joseph,  since  he  gives  it 
to  you  willingly  now,  take  it  again,  and 
lend  it  to  your  brothers  and  sisters  at 
home.  Good-by  my  little  friend." 


16  LITTLE   JOSEPH. 

"  Good-by ;  good-by." 

"  The  horses  are  put  in  now.  Do  you 
see  how  impatient  that  one  is  to  get  away  1 
See  how  he  tosses  his  head  and  piances ! 
He  is  off ;  there  is  no  need  for  the  whip. 
The  two  others  are  as  ready  to  set  off  as  he 
is." 


CHAPTER   III. 

THE    DURANCE THE    CLOUD  AVIGNON. 

"  FRANCIS,  what  do  you  see  beyond  these 
tall  poplars  ?  " 

"  The  sea." 

"  No,  my  boy,  it  is  only  a  river  —  the 
Durance  —  which  in  a  short  time  we  shall 
cross  on  a  wooden  bridge." 

"  How  pretty  the  flowers  are  in  the 
hedge-rows  !  Let  down  the  windows  that 
we  may  breathe  the  fresh  morning  air." 

"  How  quickly  we  are  going !  The 
trees  seem  to  fly  away  behind  us  !  Oh, 
what  pretty  sheep  in  that  meadow !  " 

"  Francis,  my  boy,  come  here  and  look 
out  at  this  side.  Ah  !  you  are  too  late." 

"  I  wish  to  see  them  !  " 

2  17 


18  THE    DURANCE. 

"  The  diligence  cannot  stop ;  but  we 
shall  probably  see  more  of  them.  See, 
there  is  another  little  flock  !  There  will 
be  plenty  of  time  to  see  it,  for  we  have 
come  to  a  hill.  There  is  a  ewe  looking  at 
us  ;  her  lamb  is  lying  near  her." 

"  See,  it  has  risen,  and  is  leaping  for  joy. 
Now  it  is  eating  the  fresh  grass  ;  and  now 
it  is  running  races.  Ah !  in  one  of  its 
gambols  it  has  fallen  into  a  ditch." 

"  I  see  one  all  black  come  to  -look  for 
it." 

"  Now  they  are  playing,  knocking  their 
heads  against  each  other." 

"  Will  they  hurt  one  another  ?  " 

"  No,  my  dears ;  lambs  are  gentle  crea- 
tures, and  little  children  should  try  to  be 
gentle  like  them." 

"  They  have  gone  away." 

"  No,  we  have  gone  away  from  them. ' 

"  We  are  not  walking." 

"  No,  but  the  horses  are  walking ;  and 
they  drag  the  diligence.  Just  notice  if  we 


THE    DURANCE.  19 

have  not  changed  our  place.  There  was  a 
few  minutes  ago  a  flock  of  sheep  at  one 
side,  and  now  there  is  none ;  there  was  no 
bridge,  and  now  there  is  one.  We  shall 
cross  it  immediately ;  it  is  over  the  Dur- 
ance. Our  coach  goes  between  these  red 
painted  railings.  The  water  runs  far  be- 
low us,  but  it  cannot  come  up  to  us.  Here 
we  are  across." 

"  Are  we  at  Geneva  yet  ?  " 

"  Not  yet  at  Geneva  ;  but  in  a  short  time 
we  shall  be  at  Avignon.  Are  you  wearied 
with  the  journey "?  Shall  I  tell  you  some- 
thing?" 

"  Yes  !  yes  !  " 

"  Well,  in  a  little  while  you  will  see 
water  which  comes  from  Geneva." 

"  Where  does  this  water  run  to  ?  " 

"  It  runs  down  to  the  sea." 

"  Does  it  not  go  back  to.  Geneva  with 
us?" 

"  No,  dear ;  a  river  always  runs  on.  It 
can  never  go  back  again.  But  I  am  mis- 


20  THE    CLOUD. 

taken ;  a  part  of  the  beautiful  Rhone, 
which  you  will  see  immediately,  goes  back 
to  Geneva.  Can  you  guess  how  it  gets 
back  ? " 

"  In  a  coach  1 " 

"  No." 

"  In  a  steamer  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  We  do  not  know." 

"  It  goes  back  in  a  cloud." 

"  Oh ! " 

"  I  shall  tell  you  how.  Lily,  do  you 
lemember  that  one  day  after  the  eggs  had 
been  boiled  for  breakfast,  you  took  the  pan 
and  put  it  on  the  fire,  and  left  it  there,  and 
what  happened  ? " 

"  Oh  !  I  was  so  sorry  —  the  pan  was 
burned." 

"  There  was  water  in  the  pan  when  you 
put  it  on,  was  there  not  1 " 

"  Yes  ;  but  the  water  all  went  away." 

"  Where  did  it  go  ? " 

"  I  do  not  know." 


THE    CLOUD.  21 

"  It  went  up  into  the  air,  —  the  heat  of 
the  fire  made  it  go  up  into  the  air." 

"  I  did  not  see  it." 

"  You  did  not  see  it  go  up  as  water,  but 
you  saw  white  smoke  going  up  out  of  the 
pan  did  you  not  1  That  white  smoke  was 
the  water,  which  the  heat  of  the  fire  had 
turned  into  steam.  And  it  is  also  heat, 
the  heat  of  the  sun,  which  makes  the  water 
rise  into  the  air." 

"  But  we  have  never  seen  it." 

"  It  is  not  easily  seen,  because  the  tiny 
drops  which  the  sun  draws  up  are  so  fine 
and  small ;  but  when  a  great  many  are 
gathered  together,  they  make  what  is  called 
a  cloud." 

"  Where  does  it  go  ?  " 

"  Wherever  the  wind  drives  it,  over 
mountains  and  valleys.  It  may  stop,  for 
instance,  over  Geneva ;  and  the  rain  which 
falls  from  that  cloud  may  be  the  same 
water  which  had  risen  into  the  air  from 
the  river." 


22  AVIGNON. 

"  I  wonder  which  of  us  will  be  the  first 
to  see  the  beautiful  river  Rhone.  We  are 
very  near  it  now." 

"  What  do  you  see,  Francis  ? " 

"  High  towers." 

"  These  are  the  towers  of  Avignon. 
From  them  can  be  seen  the  ribbon  of  the 
Rhone  winding  through  the  iields." 

"  Is  the  Rhone  then  a  ribbon  ? " 

"  No,  but  it  is  like  one.  I  saw  it  one 
day  from  the  top  of  a  high  mountain,  and 
its  windings  across  the  flat  country  below 
were  like  a  silvery  blue  ribbon  carelessly 
thrown  on  a  green  carpet." 

"  And  you,  Lily,  do  you  see  anything 
pretty  ? " 

"  I  see  beautiful  trees  on  this  side." 

"  Look  down.     What  do  you  see  there  ?  " 

"  Water." 

"  That  is  the  Rhone,  children ;  and  as 
we  go  on  we  shall  see  it  better.  It  is  not 
so  blue  here  as  when  it  leaves  the  lake." 

"Why?" 


AVIGNON.  23 

"  Because  as  it  runs  on  to  the  sea  a  great 
many  rivers  and  streams  pour  their  muddy 
waters  ink)  it." 

"  But  how  is  this  1  You  know  we  were 
to  have  gone  up  the  river  in  a  steamer.  I 
see  no  boat,  and  it  is  very  late.  The 
horses  stop ;  we  have  arrived.  Let  us  ask 
this  gentleman  who  is  coming  up  to  the 
coach  about  the  boat. 

"  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  tell  us  sir, 
if  there  will  be  a  boat  going  up  the  river 
to-day  I  " 

"  The  last  for  to-day  left  three  hours 
ago.  There  will  be  one  to-morrow;  but 
surely  you  don't  think  of  going  by  a 
steamer ! " 

"Why?" 

"  Because  it  is  very  uncomfortable  and 
so  slow.  I  would  advise  you  to  go  by 
coach,  and  you  will  be  in  Lyons  to-morrow 
evening.  For  the  rest  of  the  journey  you 
may  do  as  you  like ;  but  I  assure  you  that 
you  had  better  take  my  advice,  and  take 
the  coach  as  far  as  Lyons." 


24  AVIGNON. 

i 

"  Where  does  the  coach  start  from  1 " 

"  From  this  office." 

"  And  who  gives  out  the  tickets  for  the 
coach  1  " 

"  I  do." 

"  Thank  you  sir,  I  shall  just  go  to  the 
steamboat  office  before  deciding.  Chil- 
dren, you  had  better  stay  with  mamma  till 
I  come  back." 


CHAPTER   IV. 

A   LITTLE   BOY   BETTER   THAN   MOST   BOYS. 

"  I  BRING  good  news,  children.  We  can 
still  go  to-day,  and  as  the  boat  will  sail 
very  soon,  we  must  make  haste.  My  boy, 
you  will  carry  this  parcel ;  and  you,  Lily, 
take  this  basket.  All  travellers  must  try 
to  be  useful.  How  very  sorry  I  am  to 
leave  this  town  so  soon !  " 

"Why?" 

"  Because  I  have  a  very  dear  friend 
here.  How  pleasant  it  would  have  been 
to  have  surprised  him  by  a  visit !  I  should 
have  liked  to  see  his  children,  and  to  show 
you  to  him." 

"  Does  he  not  know  us  ?  " 

"  No  ;  but  he  loves  you." 

"  And  do  you  love  him  1  " 

25 


26  A    GOOD    LITTLE    BOY. 

"  Listen  for  a  moment.  One  day,  a  long 
time  ago,  he  paid  a  visit  to  my  mother,  and 
said  to  her,  putting  his  hand  on  my  head, 
and  looking  kindly  at  me,  *  Send  this  little 
boy  to  me,  and  I  shall  teach  him  what  he 
ought  to  know  to  make  him  a  wise  man.' 
I  was  sent,  and  from  that  time  he  taught 
me  all  that  hoys  learn  at  school  and 
college.  I  lived  with  him,  and  he  was  as 
kind  to  me  as  if  I  had  been  his  own  son. 
Don't  you  think  I  must  love  this  friend 
who  was  so  kind  to  me  ? " 

"  O  yes,  you  must  love  him  very  much. 
But  why  was  he  so  good  and  kind  ?  " 

"  Because  he  had  suffered  very  much. 
He  has  often  told  me  his  own  story." 

"  Oh,  do  tell  it  to  us  !  " 

"  I  am  not  sure  that  it  would  be  right  for 
me  to  tell  you  unless  he  allowed  me.  Sup- 
pose he  were  to  hear  about  the  stories  I 
have  told  you,  do  you  not  think  he  might  be 
displeased  with  me  for  telling  you  all  about 
him  ?  But,  to  be  sure,  I  might  tell  him 


A    GOOD    LITTLE    BOY.  27 

that  it  is  good  for"  my  children  to  know 
what  such  a  useful  man  as  he  is,  did  when 
he  was  a  child." 

"  The  story !  the  story  !  " 
"Well,  when  he  was  your  age,  he  was  poor 
and  often  very  ill.  He  had  no  amusement 
of  any  kind.  He  came  home  immediately 
after  school  was  over,  and  while  his  com- 
panions were  playing,  what  do  you  think 
he  did  ?  His  work  was  to  shell  almonds  ; 
and  often  the  hammer,  instead  of  striking 
the  shell,  came  down  upon  his  little  fin- 
gers, which  would  have  made  many  other 
children  cry,  but  this  little  boy  suffered 
and  went  on  with  his  work  without  com- 
plaining. He  would  have  liked  sometimes 
to  have  eaten  some  of  the  delicious  al- 
monds, but  was  not  allowed  to  taste  a  single 
one." 

"Why?" 

"  Because  they  were  not  his  own." 

"  Did  they  belong  to  his  mother  ?  " 

"  If  they  had  been  hers,  he  would  not 


28  A    GOOD   LITTLE   BOY. 

have  been  forbidden  to  eat  themu  They 
belonged  to  a  confectioner,  who  gave  her  a 
few  pence  for  taking  them  out  of  the  shell. 
But  that  is  not  all.  When  his  little  fingers 
became  tired,  he  got  cotton  to  pick,  which 
he  worked  at  as  diligently." 

"  Why  1  " 

"  Because  he  felt  happy  in  being  able  to 
do  something  for  his  parents  in  return  for 
their  sending  him  to  school.  One  day, 
while  busily  cracking  his  almonds,  the 
thought  struck  him  that  he  would  like  to 
study.  '  I  will  become  a  teacher,'  he  said 
to  himself,  '  and  make  money,  so  that  my 
father  and  mother  may  not  be  obliged  to 
work  when  they  are  old.'  He  did  not  tell 
any  one  what  he  was  going  to  do  ;  but 
God,nvho  knew  it,  blessed  him,  and  helped 
him  to  do  far  more  than  he  expected ;  and  I 
am  certain  that  now,  when  he  is  better  off, 
he  remembers  with  pleasure  the  time  when 
he  broke  almonds  at  his  father's  fireside, 
and  often  speaks  of  it  to  his  children." 

"  Has  he  children  ?  " 


A    GOOD   LITTLE    BOY.  29 

"  Yes  ;  a  little  Charles,  and  a  little 
Helen." 

"  I  wish  they  could  go  with  us  to  Gen- 
eva." 

"  Oh,  they  could  not  leave  their  papa 
and  mamma." 

"  But  when  shall  we  see  them  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  but  I  hope  some  time 
soon,  for  I  wish  the  children  to  love  each 
other  as  their  fathers  do." 


CHAPTER    V. 

THE    SIROCCO  THE   SIMOOM THE    ARABS. 

"  CARLO,  why  is  Carlo  staying  behind  ?  " 
"  The  poor  dog  is  very  tired.  When 
we  left  Orgon  he  barked  with  all  his  might 
to  get  down  from  the  top  of  the  coach ; 
and  once  down,  he  played  about  on  the 
road,  leaping  over  ditches,  and  trying  to 
keep  up  with  the  horses.  You  remember 
how  one  moment  he  would  run  before 
them,  then  come  back  and  spring  up  to 
their  heads.  I  told  you  he  could  not  go  on 
long  running  so  much.  The  groom  has 
washed  his  mouth,  but  he  will  neither  eat 
nor  drink.  He  will  soon  have  a  rest  now. 
The  steamer  we  are  going  by  is  one  of  the 
best  on  the  Rhone,  and  if  it  deserves  its 

name,  it  ought  to  go  as  fast  as  the  wind." 
so 


THE    SIMOOM.  01 

"What  is  it  called?" 

"  The  Sirocco ;  but  you  do  not  know 
what  that  means." 

"  No." 

"  It  is  a  sea-wind  ;  and  one  day  when  it 
was  blowing,  we  took  you  to  the  shore  at 
Montredon.  The  waves  did  not  break  at 
our  feet  as  they  usually  do,  but,  blown  by 
the  sirocco  back  into  the  sea,  they  rushed 
like  a  great  flock  of  sheep  over  a  green 
plain.  We  saw  them  dashing  against  the 
rocks  of  the  Castle  of  If,  and  covering 
them  with  a  sheet  of  foam.  The  ships  on 
the  sea  then  dance  upon  the  waves  like 
nutshells.  There  is  another  wind  still 
more  terrible  than  the  sirocco,  called  the 
simoom,  which  raises  the  sands  of  the 
desert  into  waves,  as  the  other  does  the 
waters  of  the  sea." 

"  What  is  a  desert  ?  " 

"  It  is  a  great  barren  plain,  where  noth- 
ing but  sand  and  sky  are  to  be  seen  ;  no 
mountains,  no  towns,  no  trees..  However, 


32  THE    ARABS. 

there  are  men  who  live  in  the  desert  called 
Arabs." 

"What  do  they  do?" 

"  They  guide  the  people  who  are  obliged 
to  cross  the  desert  on  their  way  to  other 
countries.  They  take  them  to  shady  spots, 
where  they  may  rest  and  have  a  little  water 
to  drink." 

"  Are  they  good  men  1 " 

"  Not  all  of  them.  Sometimes  they  rob 
the  poor  travellers  of  everything  they  have, 
leaving  them  without  a  morsel  to  eat  or 
anything  to  cover  them.  Some  are  shep- 
herds. They  stop  wherever  there  is  a 
little  grass  to  be  found  for  their  flocks ; 
and  when  they  have  eaten  it  all  up,  they 
move  their  tents  and  seek  pasture  for  them 
elsewhere." 

"  But  you  told  us  there  was  nothing  but 
sand." 

"  Here  and  there  are  a  few  trees,  with  a 
little  grass  growing  round  a  well,  but  there 
are  not  many  of  those  spots ;  and  people 


THE   ARABS. 

who  are  wandering  in  the  desert  often  look 
for  them  for  days  before  they  find  one.  I 
have  read  somewhere  of  a  traveller  meeting 
with  some  poor  Arabs,  who  had  taken  off 
their  clothes  and  fastened  them  to  a  stick, 
so  as  to  make  a  little  shade  for  themselves 
from  the  burning  heat  of  the  sun. 

"  And  how  do  you  think  they  manage  to 
cross  the  desert.  They  cannot  walk  as  we 
do  in  the  streets  of  Avignon  1 " 

"  On  horses." 

"  No  ;  on  camels." 

"  You  are  both  right,  children.  You  have 
seen  Arabian  horses  in  Marseilles,  but  you 
have  never  seen  a  camel  but  in  a  picture. 

"They  are  not  pretty  creatures,  but  they 
are  very  useful.  They  walk  a  long  dis- 
tance without  feeling  tired ;  can  do  with- 
out drinking  for  a  long  time  ;  eat  less  than 
a  horse,  and  have  more  than  double  the 
strength  of  one.  When  the  Arabs  are  in 
a  hurry,  they  can  travel  night  and  day  on 
their  camels." 

3 


34  THE    ARABS. 

"  But  why  do  they  not  sleep  in  an  inn  ? " 
"  Oh,  they  could  not  find  an  inn  in  the 
sandy  desert.  If  they  should  be  fortunate 
enough  to  find  a  spring  under  the  shade  of 
a  few  palm-trees,  that  is  their  inn.  They 
unload  their  camels.  The  women  busy 
themselves  in  unfolding  and  putting  up  the 
tents,  in  feeding  the  camels,  and  preparing 
supper." 

"  And  what  do  the  little  children  do  ? " 
"  Pleased  to  find  themselves  on  their 
feet  again,  they  run  about,  screaming  with 
delight,  and  play  with  the  colts  and  the 
young  camels  ;  and  when  they  have  had 
their  supper,  they  all  go  to  sleep.  But  if 
they  cannot  find  either  a  spring  or  palm- 
trees,  they  continue  their  journey  till  night 
comes  on,  not  stopping  even  to  make  ready 
anything  to  eat.  The  women  cook  on  the 
back  of  the  camels  while  they  are  walking, 
so  that  no  time  is  lost." 

"  But    does    the     dinner    not    tumble 
down?" 


THE    ARABS.  35 

"  Perhaps  you  think  their  dinners  are 
like  ours,  and  they  use  turnspits  and  sauce- 
pans for  cooking  it.  But  the  food  of  the 
Arahs  is  very  simple  ;  and  when  travelling 
they  are  satisfied  with  a  few  cakes  " 

"  I  am  very  fond  of  cakes." 

"  You  like  them  for  dessert,  or  whil°  you 
are  waiting  for  dinner ;  but  the  Arab's 
cakes  are  not  sweet,  and,  except  a  few  dry 
figs  and  a  little  water,  they  have  nothing 
else  for  dinner." 

"  But  how  can  their  caraffes  of  water 
stand  upright  1  " 

"  They  have  no  crystal  caraffes  like 
ours  ;  theirs  are  leathern  bottles,  which 
are  fastened  on  the  back  of  the  camels." 

"  Mamma  says  the  Arabs  have  neither 
spoons  nor  forks." 

"  Mamma  is  right.  Francis  can  you  tell 
me  how  they  manage  without  them ?  " 

"  They  eat  with  their  fingers." 

"  Yes.  And  do  you  know  any  one  who 
eats  sometimes  with  his  fingers  ?  " 


36  THE    ARABS. 

"  Papa,  how  delightful  to  be  an  Arab  !  " 

"  Why,  my  Lily  ?  " 

"  Because  you  told  us  they  were  so  hap- 

py-" 

"  And  are  you  not  delighted,  dear  chil- 
dren, to  get  out  of  the  coach  and  run  along 
in  the  sunshine  ?  " 

"  Yes,  we  are  !  " 

"  You  see  people  can  be  happy  without 
being  Bedouins.  I  assure  you,  you  are 
much  happier  than  they  are.  Their  jour- 
neys are  not  always  so  pleasant  as  ours,  for 
they  are  often  overtaken  by  that  terrible 
wind  which  I  have  just  been  telling  you 
of.  Here,  when  the  cold  east  wind  blows, 
every  one  escapes  from  it  by  shutting  him- 
self up  in  his  house.  But  the  poor  Arabs 
have  no  wooden  or  stone  houses  like  ours ; 
their  houses,  or  tents,  as  they  are  called, 
are  only  of  canvas.  And  yet  they  are  very 
glad  to  have  even  these  ;  for,  if  they  should 
happen  to  be  overtaken  by  the  wind  while 
travelling,  they  have  not  time  to  get  under 


THE    ARABS.  37 

cover,  because  the  putting  up  of  a  tent 
requires  more  time  than  the  building  a 
castle  of  cards." 

"  Does  the  wind  wait  till  they  get  into 
their  houses  ?  " 

"  Oh,  it  is  not  so  kind.  But  there  is  one 
of  the  Bedouin  party  who  knows  when  the 
simoom  is  approaching.  You  cannot  guess 
who  that  is  I  " 

"  No." 

"  It  is  that  useful  animal  the  camel,  of 
which  I  have  been  telling  you." 

"  But  how  does  he  know  before  the  wind 
comes  ? " 

"  He  knows  it  just  as  the  swallows  know 
when  the  cold  is  coming,  and  escape  from 
it  by  flying  to  warmer  countries ;  and  as 
the  squirrels  know  that  in  a  short  time 
there  will  be  no  fruit  on  the  trees,  and  they 
must  make  provision  for  the  winter." 

"  But  who  has  taught  them  all  that  ?  " 

"  The  good  God." 

"  Oh,  how  very  good  he  is  !  " 


38  THE    ARABS. 

"  While  the  party  is  going  merrily  on 
their  journey,  suddenly  the  camels  stop. 
The  drivers  may  threaten  or  beat  them, 
but  they  obstinately  refuse  to  move  a  step. 
They  put  down  their  heads,  and,  turning 
their  backs  to  the  side  from  which  the 
wind  is  coming,  there  they  stand  quite 
still.  The  Arabs  understand  then  that  the 
simoom  is  coming.  They  dismount  imme- 
diately, and  each  family  hastens  to  put  up 
their  tent,  looking  out  all  the  time  to  see 
if  there  are  any  clouds  of  sand  in  the  dis- 
tance. In  the  midst  of  this  scene  of  con- 
fusion the  dogs  howl  pitifully,  and  the  little 
children  cry  with  terror." 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  be  a  little  Arab." 
"  The  eyes  and  ears  of  the  horses  are 
covered  with  a  hood.  Every  one  gets 
under  the  shelter  of  his  tent,  and  covers 
his  head  with  a  large  shawl,  and  lies  with 
his  face  on  the  ground.  Woe  be  to  those 
who  are  not  sheltered  now,  for  the  wind  of 
the  desert  is  passing  over  the  tents." 


THE    ARABS.  39 

*  And  the  poor  little  Arabs  ]  " 

"  They  lie  without  moving,  with  their 
faces  on  the  ground,  like  their  fathers  and 
mothers  ;  but  the  air  gets  so  hot  they  need 
to  cool  their  faces  now  and  then  with  a 
little  water  which  they  have  put  near 
them ;  and  sometimes  even  this  water  gets 
as  hot  as  if  it  had  been  taken  from  a  fire.'' 

"  But  if  the  Arabs  were  to  get  on  their 
horses  and  gallop  off  with  their  children  1 " 

"  The  simoom  would  make  up  to  them. 
The  Arab  horses  go  very  fast,  but  the  wind 
of  the  desert  goes  still  faster,  and  very  soon 
both  horses  and  riders  would  be  overtaken, 
and  die  in  the  clouds  of  burning  sand." 

"  Does  that  wind  come  here  \  " 

"  Oh,  no  ;  don't  be  afraid." 

"  And  the  sirocco  ?  " 

"  You  need  not  be  afraid  of  it  either.  I 
have  only  told  you  about  it,  because  the 
steamer  which  is  to  take  us  up  the  river  is 
called  after  it.7' 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A   DANGEROUS    LANDING   AT   AVIGNON. 

"  PAPA,  there  is  a  steamboat  now  !  " 

"  That  is  not  ours  yet ;  we  wish  to  go  up 
the  river,  and  that  one  is  going  down. 
See  how  fast  it  goes  !  —  it  is  out  of  sight 
already  !  Do  you  know  this  place  1  " 

"  No." 

"  You  have  been  here  before.  We  came 
here  in  a  steamboat  about  a  year  and  a 
half  ago.  There  had  been  a  great  deal  of 
rain,  and  the  river  was  so  very  large  that 
we  were  afraid  we  would  not  be  able  to 
land.  Come  here  and  look  over  this  wall. 
You  see  the  water  is  far  below  us,  but  that 
day  you  could  have  touched  it  with  your 
hand.  The  steamboat  came  to  this  place 

40 


DANGEROUS    LANDING    AT    AVIGNON.        41 

where  we  are  standing,  to  land  the  passen- 
gers ;  and  as  the  Ehone  was  growing 
larger  and  larger  every  moment,  the  cap- 
tain wished  to  get  off  again  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible, because  he  was  afraid  he  would  not 
be  able  to  pass  under  the  bridge.  The 
passengers  tried  who  would  be  out  first ; 
we  kept  quiet  in  a  corner  out  of  the  rain. 
The  porters  looked  like  a  band  of  thieves, 
seizing  hold  of  the  luggage  and  running 
away  with  it.  I  kept  my  eye  on  our 
boxes  in  case  any  of  them  should  be  car- 
ried off.  Oh,  what  a  shouting  and  scream- 
ing there  was !  And  in  the  midst  of  all 
this  confusion,  instead  of  troubling  your 
mamma  and  papa,  you  sat  quiet,  looking 
about  you,  and  wondering  what  it  all 
meant.  At  last,  after  the  crowd  was  away, 
I  got  our  luggage  carried  on  shore,  and  we 
prepared  to  land ;  but  this  was  no  easy- 
matter.  I  told  you  a  minute  ago  that  the 
water  was  nearly  as  high  as  this  wall,  and 


42         DANGEROUS   LANDING    AT    AVIGNON. 

the  steamer  was  raised  high  above  the 
landing  place.  A  plank  had  been  laid, 
with  one  end  on  the  quay  and  the  other  on 
the  boat;  and  it  was  over  this  narrow, 
slippery,  dangerous  bridge  that  we  had  to 
pass.  For  the  first  half  of  the  way  there 
was  a  danger  of  falling  into  the  river,  and 
for  the  other  half,  into  the  mud.  While 
wondering  how  we  were  to  get  safely 
down,  we  saw  a  terrible  accident  happen 
to  an  old  man.  He  was  just  before  us, 
and  had  got  nearly  to  the  end  of  the  plank, 
when  his  foot  slipped,  and  he  fell  back, 
hurting  himself  very  much.  However,  as 
we  were  obliged  to  get  down  somehow,  I 
took  you,  little  Lily,  in  my  arms  ;  and,  as  I 
put  my  foot  on  the  plank,  I  asked  God  to 
take  care  of  us.  Your  mamma,  who  was 
behind,  watched  us  as  we  went  along,  and 
was  very  frightened  till  she  saw  us  safely 
down.  Then  I  left  Lily  with  her  nurse, 
and  came  back  for  you,  my  big  boy,  for 


DANGEROUS    LANDING   AT    AVIGNON.        43 

you  were  still  in  the  steamer,  and,  after 
leaving  you  with  Lily  on  the  quay,  I  helped 
your  mamma  clown,  too  ;  and  when  we  had 
all  met  again,  we  thanked  God  for  having 
watched  over  us,  as  we  had  asked  him  to 
do." 

"And  then?" 

"  Then  we  went  into  the  town,  but 
found  so  much  water  in  the  streets  that  we 
could  not  go  further." 

"  Where  did  all  the  water  come  from  ?  " 

"  From  the  Rhone.  For  some  days 
Avignon  was  just  like  a  lake  ;  and  when 
people  wished  to  go  out,  they  had  to  take 
a  boat." 

>  "  Was  there  water  there  where  my  foot 
is?" 

"Look  up  at  this  large  gate.  Do  you 
see  a  black  line  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  if  you  could  read,  you  would  see 
figures  marked  there  which  tell  the  year 


44       DANGEROUS    LANDING   AT   AVIGNON. 

that  the  water  rose  as  high  as  that  mark. 
It  would  have  covered  not  only  your  foot, 
Francis,  but  your  head,  and  even  that 
coach ;  and  if  you  had  been  in  that  house 
over  there,  you  might  have  taken  some 
water  out  of  the  window  in  your  little 
hand." 

"  How  nice  that  would  have  been  ! " 
"  The  people  did  not  think  it  very  pleas- 
ant to   see   the  water   rushing  into  their 
houses,  or  to  have  their  trees  rooted  up, 
and  their  harvests  destroyed." 
"  The  Rhone  is  very  naughty." 
"  My  dear,  the  Rhone  does  not  think. 
It  does  not  know  what  it  does.     It  is  God 
that   permits    the    waters    to    carry   away 
houses  and  fields." 

"  Then  God  is  not  good." 
"  Am  I  not  good  to  you  ?  " 
"  Yes,  you  are  our  good  papa." 
"  And  do  you  know  why  I  sometimes 
punish  you  1  why  I  take  away,  your  toys  "? 


DANGEROUS    LANDING    AT    AVIGNON.        45 

Because  I  wish,  to  make  you  good.  But  I 
love  you  quite  as  much  when  I  take  them 
away  as  when  I  give  you  them.  And  God, 
too,  takes  away  his  blessings  from  men, 
and  punishes  them,  because  he  wishes 
them  to  be  good ;  he  is  as  kind  to  them 
when  he  allows  the  water  to  carry  away 
their  trees  and  fruits  as  he  is  to-day  when 
he  makes  the  sun  to  shine  on  them,  and  the 
soft  breath  of  Spring  to  blow." 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE    STEAMER. 

"  DING,  dong !  ding,  dong !  Do  you 
hear  the  steamboat  bell  ?  Make  haste,  it 
will  be  off!  The  porters  have  taken  our 
luggage  on  board ;  we  have  nothing  to 
look  after  but  ourselves.  Take  care  in 
crossing  the  narrow  plank  !  Ah,  here  we 
are  at  last ! " 

"  Puff,  puff,  puff,  puff!  What  a  dread- 
ful noise  !  Is  there  anything  the  matter  ? " 

"  Don't  be  afraid,  my  dears ;  it  is  only 
the  steam.  Don't  you  see  it  rushing  out 
of  that  long  tube  by  the  side  of  the  fun- 
nel?" 

"  What  a  high  chimney,  and  what  black 
smoke !  The  sky  will  be  all  black." 

46 


THE    STEAMER.  47 

"  Oh,  no,  my  little  man,  the  sky  is  so 
large,  so  very  large,  that  all  the  smoke  in 
the  world  would  not  take  away  its  beauti- 
ful blue  color.  It  is  just  as  if  you  were 
to  pour  my  ink-bottle  into  the  sea,  Francis  ; 
the  beautiful  water  would  be  as  green  and 
clear  as  ever." 

"  Ah,  the  paddles  are  beginning  to  move, 
and  make  the  water  boil.  How  the  houses 
are  running  away !  All  the  people  who 
were  looking  at  us  are  far  away  down 
there  already.  Can  houses  run?  Have 
they  legs  ? " 

"  No,  dear,  no  more  than  the  towers  of 
Avignon  palace.  They  are  fixed  in  the 
ground,  and  keep  in  one  place." 

"  But  we  do  not  see  them  any  more." 

"  That  is  because  the  steamer  has  car- 
ried us  a  long  way  on  while  we  have  been 
talking." 

"  Has  it  legs  ?  " 

"  No,  but  it  has  wheels,  which  turn 
round  in  the  water  and  make  it.  go." 


48  THE    STEAMER. 

"  What  makes  the  wheels  turn  in  the 
water  ? " 

"  Steam ;  the  same  steam  which  made 
so  much  noise  when  we  were  setting  off. 
Do  you  not  remember  that  last  winter  I 
often  put  a  small  kettle  on  my  fire,  and 
when  the  water  in  it  began  to  boil,  the  lid 
began  to  dance,  to  your  great  amusement"? 
Well,  it  was  the  steam  from  the  water 
which  raised  the  lid.  The  wheels  of  the 
boat  are  a  great  deal  heavier  than  the  lid 
of  my  kettle,  and  they  need  a  great  deal 
more  steam  to  make  them  move." 

"  And  where  is  the  water  boiled  ?  I 
don't  see  any  kettle." 

"  It  is  not  boiled  in  a  kettle,  dear ; 
there  is  not  one  large  enough ;  but  in  the 
middle  of  the  boat  there  is  something 
which  does  as  well  as  a  kettle.  It  is  a 
large  boiler.  The  water  is  boiled  in  it, 
and  it  sends  out  plenty  of  steam  to  make 
the  steamer  go ;  but  then  there  must  be  a 


THE    STEAMER.  49 

fire.      Come  to  the  funnel,  and  you  will 
feel  how  hot  it  is.     But  you  must  give  me 
your  hand  ;  it  is  not  safe  for  little  children 
to  walk  here  alone." 
"Why?" 

"  Because  you  might  fall  into  the  water 
Do  you  not  see  these  large  openings  at  the 
side  of  the  deck,  where  you  might  fall 
out?  Or  you  might  burn  yourselves  on 
the  funnel ;  or  you  might  be  —  but,  oh, 
may  God  mercifully  preserve  you  from 
that !  —  you  might  be  caught  by  these 
great  machines  which  move  their  iron 
arms  with  such  a  dreadful  noise." 

"  And  then  could  papa  not  take  us  out  ?  " 
"  Ah,  no,   my   darlings ;    but   I   cannot 
think   of   such   a  thing.     Come  away  to 
the  other  side." 

"  What  is  the  use  of  these  machines  ?  " 
"They  make  the  wheels  turn  round." 
"  But  there  are  none  of  them  in  the  dil- 
igence." 


50  THE    STEAMER. 

"No,  but  there  are  horses ;  and  in  a 
steamboat,  these  machines  are  instead  of 
horses.  Come  away  to  the  other  end  of 
the  deck ;  we  shall  have  a  beautiful  view, 
and  shall  see  all  the  places  we  are  to  stop 
at  before  we  come  to  them,  and  the  large 
bell  which  rings  to  let  passengers  know 
when  the  steamer  is  going  away.  Sit  down 
here." 

"  I  am  very  sleepy." 

"  You  must  be  tired  after  travelling  all 
night  in  a  diligence.  We  shall  go  down  to 
the  saloon  to  rest,  but  we  must  go  to  the 
other  end  of  the  deck  to  get  to  it.  Take 
care  not  to  fall  going  down  this  steep  stair. 

"  This  saloon  is  like  our  drawing-room 
at  home,  only  the  ceiling  is  lower,  and 
there  are  little  iron  pillars  to  hold  it  up. 
Then,  instead  of  two  large  windows  hung 
with  curtains,  we  have  here  three  small 
ones  on  each  side  with  blinds.  There  are 
several  tables,  too,  for  the  use  of  the  pass- 
engers. But  you  are  very  sleepy." 


THE    STEAMER.  51 

"  Where  are  our  beds  1 " 

"  There  they  are,  —  these  stuffed  seats 
all  round  the  saloon.  It  is  not  a  very  soft 
bed ;  but  after  I  have  made  it  all  ready  for 
you,  you  will  sleep  very  well  on  it.  See, 
I  have  covered  the  cushions  with  clean 
sheets,  and  here  are  shawls  and  cloaks  to 
cover  you,  and  I  will  put  one  of  these 
tables  in  front,  to  keep  you  from  rolling 
over.  Now  are  you  not  as  comfortable  as 
if  you  were  in  your  own  little  bed  at 
homer' 

"  Yes,  yes ;  and  little  Harry  ?  " 

"  Oh,  no  fear  of  him ;  I  have  laid  him 
between  two  cushions,  and  I  am  sure  he 
thinks  he  is  in  his  own  little  crib.  But  I 
am  afraid  the  noise  of  the  machinery  may 
disturb  him,  dear  little  fellow  !  " 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

THE    SAND-BANK. 

"  IT  is  morning !  Lily  is  awake,  and 
Francis,  too.  I  am  very  glad,  for  it  is  such, 
a  beautiful  day,  it  is  a  pity  not  to  he  on 
deck  enjoying  it.  Come,  and  we  shall 
have  a  walk  up-stairs ;  it  is  too  warm 
here." 

"  What  are  these  men  doing  putting 
long  poles  into  the  river  1 " 

"  They  are  measuring  how  deep  it  is, 
and  each  time  they  take  the  poles  out  of 
the  water,  they  tell  the  captain  how  many 
feet  deep  the  water  is.  Did  you  think 
they  were  singing  when  you  heard  them 
calling  out  1 " 

62 


THE.  SAND-BANK.  53 

"  But  why  do  they  wish  to  know  how 
deep  the  water  is  ?  " 

"  Because  the  captain  is  afraid  there 
will  not  be  enough  water  for  the  steamer 
to  sail  in,  and  he  wishes  to  choose  the 
deepest  place." 

"  And  if  there  is  not  enough,  what  will 
happen  1 " 

"  The  steamer  will  run  aground,  and  we 
shall  be  stopped  in  the  middle  of  the 
Ehone,  not  able  either  to  go  up  or  down, 
which  will  not  be  very  pleasant.  I  was 
once  stopped  in  this  way  before." 

"  And  you  too,  mamma  I  " 

"  Yes,  I  too,  several  years  ago ;  but 
instead  of  travelling  with  papa  and  you, 
my  dears,  I  was  with  your  grandmamma 
and  your  aunt." 

"  And  why  were  you  not  with  us  "?  " 

"  It  was  before  you  were  born,  my  little 
darlings.  I  shall  tell  you  what  happened. 
We  were  on  board  one  of  the  '  Eagle 


54  THE    SAND-BANK. 

Company's '  steamers,  like  that  which  has 
just  passed  us.  I  suppose  it  is  because 
that  Company's  steamers  sail  so  fast  that 
they  have  been  called  after  the  king  of 
birds.  At  any  rate,  we  were  very  com- 
fortable on  board.  The  first  night  it  was 
beautiful  moonlight,  and  we  walked  on 
deck  till  it  was  very  late.  The  second 
night,  the  sailors  put  down  poles  like 
these  into  the  water  every  little  while,  just 
as  they  are  doing  now.  They  did  every- 
thing they  could  to  keep  the  steamer  from 
touching  the  bottom,  but  about  ten  o'clock 
it  struck,  and  suddenly  stopped.  The 
sailors  on  deck  shouted  to  each  other  at 
the  top  of  their  voices,  and  now  and  then 
we  heard  the  captain's  voice  above  them 
all.  Oh,  what  a  noise  there  was  !  It  sound- 
ed to  us  down  below  as  if  the  sailors  were 
playing  among  themselves,  rolling  all  the 
casks  and  boxes  backwards  and  forwards. 
We  were  going  to  ask  what  it  was,  when 


THE    SAND-BANK.  55 

the  stewardess  ran  in  in  a  great  hurry,  say- 
ing, '  I  beg  pardon,  but  something  has 
been  forgotten.'  And  she  opened  the  door 
of  a  little  room,  looked  in,  and  went  away 
again.  '  What  has  been  forgotten  I '  mamma 
asked.  '  Oh,  nothing,  nothing  at  all.'  We 
wondered  very  much,  and  wanted  to  know 
what  it  was,  and  we  fancied  all  manner  of 
things,  and  the  same  noise  began  again  on 
the  deck." 

"  But  what  was  it,  mamma  ?  " 

"I  didn't  know  at  first,  my  dear,  but  I 
very  soon  found  out.  A  second  knock 
came  to  the  door,  and  this  time  it  was  the 
captain  with  one  of  the  sailors.  '  Excuse 
me,'  he  said,  '  I  am  sorry  to  disturb  you, 
but  there  is  something  here  I  wish  to  see.' 
They  went  into  the  little  room  with  a  lan- 
tern, and  saw  that  a  small,  round  window 
had  been  forced  open,  and  the  water  was 
coming  in.  The  captain  looked  very 
grave,  and  he  and  the  sailor  closed  the 


56  THE    SAND-BANK. 

window,  and  fastened  it  up  with  a  close 
shutter,  to  keep  the  water  from  coming  in. 
The  stewardess  stayed  behind  in  the  sa- 
loon, and  we  begged  her  to  tell  us  if 
anything  more  had  happened.  '  Don't  be 
afraid,  she  said,  c  there  is  nothing  to  fear ; 
the  boat  has  only  run  aground.  It  has 
struck  on  a  gravel  bank,  and  the  sailors 
have  been  putting  all  the  heavy  things  at 
the  stern.' 

"  '  And  what  has  the  captain  been  doing 
in  that  little  room  ? '  '  He  has  been  look- 
ing to  see  if  the  water  was  coming  in  at 
the  window,  which  it  did,  because  the  sea 
was  stormy,  and  the  boat  had  been  heavily 
loaded.  But  keep  quiet,'  said  the  steward- 
ess, '  there  is  nothing  to  be  afraid  of ; ' 
and  then  she  went  away." 
"  Were  you  afraid,  mamma  ?  " 
"  Oh,  no,  my  darling,  because  I  knew 
that  God  would  take  care  of  us,  and  not 
allow  anything  to  happen  which  was  not 


THE  J3AND-BANK.  57 

to  be  for  our  good.  About  half  an  hour 
afterwards  we  noticed  water  under  the 
door  of  the  little  room,  and  it  increased 
till  there  was  quite  a  stream  running  down 
the  cabin  floor.  Thinking  we  ought  to 
tell  the  captain,  I  threw  on  my  cloak  and 
rushed  on  deck.  There  was  no  one  to  be 
seen ;  but  after  calling  several  times,  one 
of  the  sailors  came  to  me,  and  he  gave  my 
message  to  the  captain.  He  went  down- 
stairs, and  when  he  saw  the  water  rushing 
into  the  saloon,  he  advised  us  to  go  on 
deck,  and  then  he  set  immediately  to  work 
to  fasten  the  window  more  firmly  than  had 
been  done  before.  As  for  us,  we  three  sat 
down  near  the  funnel,  and  watched  every- 
thing the  sailors  did  to  get  the  boat  off." 

"  And  what  did  they  do  ?  " 

"  Nearly  all  the  sailors  got  down  on  the 
gravel-bank,  and  at  a  given  signal  they  all 
pulled  the  ropes  which  had  been  fastened 
to  the  boat  for  the  purpose  of  dragging  it 


58  THE    SAND-BANK. 

back ;  and  those  on  deck  pushed  with  all 
their  might  against  the  long  poles  which 
had  been  put  down  into  the  bed  of  the 
river,  to  help  our  Eagle  to  fly  again.  Sev- 
eral times,  when  the  captain  thought  it 
was  moving  off,  he  ordered  the  paddles  to 
be  set  in  motion,  but  all  was  in  vain.  The 
men  pulled  and  pushed,  the  wheel  turned 
round  and  round,  but  the  boat  stuck  fast 
on  the  bank.  It  reminded  me  of  those 
poor  unfortunate  butterflies  which  we  often 
see  fastened  down  by  a  pin  run  through 
the  middle  of  their  bodies,  actively  moving 
their  wings  without  being  able  to  fly 
away." 

"  And  what  did  you  do,  mamma  1 " 
"  I  could  do  nothing  but  notice  what 
was  going  on  around  me.  Your  grand- 
mamma, your  aunt,  and  I,  would  very 
gladly  have  helped  too  ;  but  what  could 
we  have  done "?  We  thought  the  best 
thing  we  could  do  was  to  sit  quiet  in  our 


THE    SAND-BANK.  59 

little  corner  and  wait  patiently,  without 
troubling  the  sailors  with  our  questions,  or 
coming  in  our  way  by  walking  up  and 
down  on  the  deck." 

"  Is  that  the  end  of  your  story,  mam- 
ma T' 

"  No.  I  think  you  would  not  like  to 
leave  us  in  the  middle  of  the  Rhone.  1 
have  not  very  much  more  to  tell  you,  but 
still  I  am  sure  you  would  like  to  hear  it. 
About  one  o'clock  in  the  morning,  after  a 
great  deal  of  difficulty  and  hard  work,  our 
sailors,  with  great  delight,  saw  the  boat 
move.  Soon  it  was  going  at  full  speed, 
and  when  a  short  time  afterwards,  it 
stopped  at  its  resting-place  for  the  night, 
we  all  went  to  bed,  and  I  need  hardly  say 
that  every  one  on  board  slept  soundly." 


CHAPTEK    IX. 

THE   LETTER THE    PASSAGE   OF    THE    BRIDGE 

OF    ST.    ESPRIT THE    PILOT. 

"  HAVE  you  slept  well,  children  ? " 

"  Is  my  breakfast  ready  1  " 

"  Yes,  my  boy,  but  wait  till  you  are 
quite  awake.  Do  you  know  where  we 
are?" 

"  In  a  room." 

"  What  room  ?  " 

"In  a  room  in  the  steamboat." 

"  Shall  we  soon  be  at  Geneva "? " 

"  Yes,  Lily  Half  of  the  journey  is 
already  over." 

"  Is  the  boat  going  just  now "? " 

"  To  be  sure  it  is  ;  do  you  not  hear 
GO 


THE    LETTER.  61 

% 

noise  of  the  paddles?  It  set  off  very 
early  this  morning,  indeed  before  the  sun 
had  risen." 

"  Were  you  out  of  bed,  papa,  when  it 
started  I " 

"  Yes,  and  mamma  too ;  and  we  had  a 
little  walk  while  you  were  sleeping." 

"  Where  did  you  go  ]  " 

"  Not  very  far  away  ;  we  did  not  go  out 
of  the  boat.  The  sailors  were  making 
ready  to  sail,  but  it  was  so  very  dark  that 
they  passed  before  us  like  ghosts  ;  and  we 
with  our  cloaks  drawn  round  us  must  have 
looked  like  two  ghosts  standing  still." 

"  And  then  what  did  you  do "? " 

"After  a  little,  we  came  down-stairs 
again,  but  as  I  did  not  feel  sleepy,  I  wrote 
a  letter  to  my  sister." 

"  Is  she  our  sister,  too  1 " 

"  No.  She  is  your  aunt,  and  your  good 
friend." 

"  Is  she  our  kind  friend  1 " 


62  THE   LETTER. 

"  Yes,  my  dears.  Was  she  not  very 
happy  when  she  was  with  you,  and  were 
you  not  delighted  to  stay  with  her  I  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  those  whom  we  love  and  who 
love  us  are  our  friends.  Who  is  your 
best  friend  1 " 

"  It  is  you." 

"  It  is  mamma." 

"  We  are  your  good  friends,  hut  there  is 
a  much  better  one  than  us.  It  is  He  who 
has  said,  '  Suffer  little  children  to  come 
unto  me,'  and  who  laid  his  hands  upon 
their  heads  and  blessed  them.  It  is  the 
Lord  Jesus." 

"  And  what  are  you  doing  with  that 
paper  1 " 

"  I  am  writing." 

"  Have  you  been  writing  a  pretty  story 
for  us  ? " 

"  It  is  the  letter  I  have  written  to  your 
aunt.  Would  you  like  me  to  read  it  to 
ou?" 


THE    LETTER.  5 

"  Yes,  yes  !  " 

"  «  ON  BOARD  THE  "  SIROCCO,"  4  o'clock  morning. 
'  DEAR  SISTER  :  I  am  sure  you  must  often  be  thinking 
of  us  and  the  little  children,  and  wondering  -what  they  are 
doing,  and  where  they  are.  Well,  I  will  tell  you.  In 
answer  to  the  first  question,  What  they  are  doing  ?  They 
are  just  now  fast  asleep.  From  the  place  where  I  am  sit- 
ting I  can  see  them  all  three,  making  up  for  the  time  they 
lost  last  night  in  the  diligence.' 

"  Do  you  know  these  little  children  I 
have  just  been  speaking  about  ?  " 

"  Yes.     It  is  Lily,  and  Francis,  and  little 
Harry." 

Yes.     You  are  right. 


" 


'  Till  now  they  have  not  been  at  all  troublesome,  and 
have  been  quite  contented,  though  they  were  obliged  to  do 
without  the  little  comforts  which  cannot  be  had  on  a  jour- 
ney.1 " 

"  Oh,  what  a  beautiful  tree  has  just 
passed  !  " 

"  It  is  not  the  tree  which  passed  before 
us,  but  we  who  pass  before  the  V>e  Lis- 
ten. children. 


64  THE   LETTER. 

'  Francis  is  always  lively.  He  notices  everything,  — 
trees,  sheep,  the  smoke  which  smokes,  as  he  says;  he  ad- 
mires them  all.  Lily  is  only  amused  for  a  minute  or  two. 
She  never  loses  sight  of  the  end  of  our  journey,  and  is 
always  asking  if  we  shall  soon  be  at  Geneva. 

'  Harry,  with  his  prattle,  and  smiles,  and  screams  of  de- 
light, gives  a  holiday  air  to  our  journey.  He  is  a  little 
bird  which  tells  us  that  spring  is  coming.' " 

"  Where  is  the  little  bird,  papa  ? " 

"  There  he  is,  fast  asleep.  It  is  your 
little  brother." 

"  Why  do  you  call  him  a  bird  ?  Birds 
have  wings,  and  little  Harry  has  none." 

"  He  is  not  like  the  birds  that  fly  in  the 
air,  but  I  have  called  him  a  bird  because 
he  is  so  good,  and  tries  to  sing  like  them. 

"  I  shall  go  on  with  my  letter. 

•  We  find  spring  everywhere  on  our  journey.  It  is  in 
these  flowery  meadows,  in  these  warm  sunbeams  which 
come  down  from  a  cloudless  sky,  in  these  fresh  green 
leaves,  which  seem  to  grow  while  we  are  looking  at  them, 
in  the  song  of  that  nightingale  which  I  hear  while  I  am 
writing.  "A  nightingale!"  you  will  perhaps  say.  "I 
wonder  that  little  voice  is  not  terrified,  drowned  by  the 


i\f 

"wheelsCtJte 


G- 


noise  of /the  "wheelsCfjie  pushing  of  the  ways,  the  cri'd&>  of 
the  sailirs.     Are  you  not  in  a  steafflbcS^?  ^TJ^ft*  but  the 
steamer   has  been  at   anchor  since   one   o'clock 
morniAff^_  —  J^V,  ty 

"  You  do  not  know^vvlia^Lnieari  when 
I  say  the  boat  is  at  anchor.  A  boat  or 
ship  is  at  anchor  when  it  is  fastened  firmly 
by  its  anchor,  so  that  it  cannot  move  from 
the  same  place.  Can  we  say  that  Francis 
is  at  anchor1?  No.  Why?  Because  he 
is  never  still  for  a  moment.  Come,  my 
boy,  be  quiet  for  a  very  little,  till  I  finish 
the  letter. 


'I  have  just  been  up-stairs  for  a  moment  to  find  out 
where  we  are.  I  cannot  tell  you  very  exactly  our  position, 
but  we  are  lying  in  a  most  beautiful  bend  of  the  river. 
The  two  banks  which  are  very  close  to  each  other,  are 
covered  with  rich  green  grass  and  trees,  as  far  as  one  can 
see  by  the  light  of  the  stars.  Towards  the  east  we  can 
just  see  the  dim  outline  of  the  hills  rising  one  above  the 
other  into  high,  gloomy  mountains,  behind  which  the  dawn 
of  the  twenty-fifth  of  April  is  beginning  to  appear.  On  the 
opposite  side,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  there  are  dark 
and  light  spots  to  be  seen.  The  dark  spots  are  the  land. 


66  BRIDGE   OF    ST.    ESPRIT. 

and  the  light  ones  are  the  Rhone,  which  is  hidden  by  the 
land,  and  comes  into  view  again  a  little  further  on. 
But "' 

"  That  is  not  a  pretty  story." 

"  It  is  too  long." 

"Very  well;  I  shall  not  trouble  you 
with  any  more  of  it. 

"  Bring  the  children's  breakfast.  They 
like  stories,  but  I  think  just  now  their 
breakfast  would  please  them  better.  The 
air  of  the  Rhone  seems  to  give  them  an 
appetite.  Make  haste,  for  I  wish  to  show 
you  a  bridge.  It  is  the  largest  one  on  the 
Rhone,  but  the  arches  are  so  very  narrow 
that  the  steamers  sometimes  can  scarcely 
pass  through  them,  especially  when  they 
are  going  up,  as  ours  is  doing,  because  the 
current  rushing  through  the  narrow  arch 
is  very  rapid." 

"  We  have  done  breakfast." 

"  Well,  come  up-stairs  and  you  shall  see 
the  bridge." 


THE   PILOT.  67 

"  Oh,  what  a  large  bridge  !  I  see  carts 
passing  over  it,  and  little  boys  standing 
looking  at  us." 

"  These  are  not  little  boys,  but  men  as 
big  as  papa.  They  only  appear  to  be  lit- 
tle because  you  are  a  long  way  from  them. 
There  is  a  man  climbing  up  the  side  of  the 
boat." 

"  Where  does  he  come  from  ]  " 
"  From  the  town  of  Pont  St.  Esprit." 
"  What  is  he  going  to  do  ?  " 
"  To  guide  the  boat.     He  is  a  pilot." 
"  Why  does  he  call  out  so  1 " 
"  Because  just  now  he  has  charge  of  the 
boat,  and  if  he  did  not  speak  very  loud 
the  m6n  would  not  hear  what  he  says,  for 
in  this  narrow  passage  the  Rhone  makes  a 
terrible   noise.     See   how  the  people  are 
running  up  and  down  on  deck.     I  should 
like  to  show  you  the  bridge  a  little  nearer, 
but  I  am  afraid  we  should  be  in  the  way 
of  the  sailors.     Let  us  keep  quiet  in  this 


68  THE    PILOT. 

corner.      See,   there    are    several    sailors 
dragging  a  rope  this  way." 

"  What  are  they  going  to  do  ?  " 
"  One  end  of  that  rope  is  fastened  to  a 
post  fixed  on  the  bridge  ;  and  see,  they  are 
going  to  tie  the  other  end  of  it  to  the  side 
of  the  boat." 
"Why?" 

"  When  a  gentleman  comes  off  his  horse 
to  go  into  a  house  for  a  few  minutes,  does 
he  not  fasten  the  reins  to  a  tree,  or  to  a 
ring  fixed  in  the  wall  ?  " 
"  Yes." 

"  Do  you  know  why  he  does  so  1 " 
"  To    keep    the    horse    from    running 
away." 

"Well,  the  boat  is  kept  from  being 
carried  away  by  the  current  by  that  rope 
which  is  fastened  to  a  strong  post  on  the 
bridge.  Now  the  engines  are  going  again ; 
the  wheels  are  turning  round.  We  are 
off  once  more.  We  have  passed  the  dan- 


THE    PILOT.  69 

gerous  part.  The  bridge  was  before  us  a 
few  minutes  ago,  and  now  there  it  is  be- 
hind us.  The  pilot  is  going  to  leave  us 
now." 

"  How  will  he  get  out  of  the  boat  ?  " 

"  The  same  way  that  he  came  in.  You 
will  see  in  a  little  while.  The  captain 
pays  him ;  that  is  only  right ;  he  has  had 
a  great  deal  of  trouble.  For  nearly  an 
hour  he  has  been  giving  orders  to  the 
men ;  now  to  the  men  who  have  charge 
of  the  engines,  and  now  to  the  sailors  or 
to  the  men  on  the  bridge.  His  eye  was 
everywhere,  and  he  is  so  very  strong  that 
he  did  as  much  as  two  of  the  other  men. 
There  he  is  going  away.  Look  at  him. 
He  is  going  out  of  that  opening  in  the  side 
of  the  boat." 

"  Is  he  going  to  throw  himself  into  the 
water "? " 

"  Oh,  no,  not  at  all.  Do  you  see  a  little 
boat  at  the  side  of  our  large  boat?  It 


70  THE    PILOT. 

looks  so  very  tiny  that  one  might  think  a 
breath  of  wind  would  upset  it.  There  is 
the  pilot  in  it  already.  He  unfastens  it; 
the  current  carries  it  away.  It  glides  and 
bounds  over  the  waves  like  one  of  your 
little  paper  boats." 

"  Will  the  pilot  come  back  again  ?  " 
"  He   will   come   back   to-morrow,   and 
every  day,  to  guide  the  other  boats  which 
are  going  up  the  river,  but  we  shall  not  see 
him,  as  we  are  going  to  Geneva.' 


CHAPTEK    X. 

THE   INUNDATION. 

"WE  shall  very  soon  lose  sight  of  the 
bridge.  Look  at  it  once  more  ;  it  is  worth 
the  trouble.  From  where  we  are  standing 
we  can  see  the  full  length  of  it,  although 
some  of  the  arches  are  half  hidden  behind 
tufts  of  grass." 

"  Papa,  there  is  not  water  under  all  the 
arches." 

"  No,  my  dear,  the  Rhone  runs  only 
under  the  arches  which  are  near  the  town, 
but  sometimes  it  flows  over  that  side  where 
you  see  nothing  but  gravel  just  now.  We 
might  say  that  it  likes  to  change  its  bed." 

"  Has  it  a  bed  to  rest  on  \  " 

71 


72  THE    INUNDATION. 

"  Not  like  the  one  you  slept  on  last 
night,  —  the  water  is  never  tired,  it  does 
not  need  to  rest  or  sleep.  The  bed  of  a 
river  is  the  ground  over  which  it  usually 
flows. 

"  I  told  you  that  the  Eh  one  often 
changes  its  bed,  but  it  does  not  do  so  for 
the  same  reasons  that  we  change  ours. 
When  we  leave  a  place,  it  is  to  get  what 
we  think  a  better  one.  A  minute  ago  Lily 
was  seated  on  that  coil  of  ropes,  but  it 
appears  she  was  not  very  comfortable,  as 
she  has  taken  a  seat  on  her  mamma's  lap 
instead.  But  a  river  changes  its  bed 
because  it  is  obliged  to  do  so." 

"  How  is  it  obliged  ? " 

"  I  shall  explain  it  to  you.  The  tor- 
rents which  rush  down  to  the  Rhone  carry 
with  them  stones  and  sand,  which  fall  to 
the  bottom,  and  as  the  bottom  of  the  river 
fills  up  by  degrees,  the  water  spreads  itself 
over  the  lowest  parts.  It  happens  some- 


THE    IUUNDATION.  73 

times  that  the  Rhone  covers  all  the  gravel 
which  you  see,  and  passes  under  all  the 
arches  of  the  bridge." 

"  Oh,  have  you  ever  seen  that  1 " 

"  I  have  seen  it,  but  a  long  time  ago." 

"  Were  you  in  a  steamboat  ?  " 

"  It  was  before  there  were  any  steam- 
boats. I  was  a  little  boy  at  the  time." 

"  Like  me  ?  " 

"  Oh,  older  and  bigger  than  you !  I  was 
spending  a  few  weeks  in  the  town  of  Pont 
St.  Esprit.  I  liked  very  much  to  walk  by 
the  side  of  the  river,  and  one  day  I  found 
myself  with  one  of  my  companions  on  the 
dike.  Do  you  know  what  a  dike  is  "? " 

"  No." 

"  I  know." 

"  Well,  let  us  hear,  my  boy." 

"  It  is  a  —  a  —  a  —  dike." 

"  I  thought  you  did  not  know.  A  dike 
is  a  very  thick  wall  which  is  built  by  the 
sides  of  rivers  to  keep  the  water  from  run- 


THE    INUNDATION.  75 

destroyed,  and  that  oxen  and  sheep,  and 
even  a  baby's  cradle,  had  been  seen  float- 
ing down  the  river." 

"  Was  there  a  little  baby  in  it?  " 

"  I  am  not  very  sure.  Every  one  ran  to 
the  bridge,  and  I  was  not  the  last  to  go. 
But  a  great  many  people  came  back  after 
they  had  walked  a  few  steps  on  it." 

"  Why  \  " 

"  Because  it  shook  under  our  feet,  just 
as  our  own  house  in  Marseilles  did  when  a 
cart  passed  in  the  street.  It  was  said,  too, 
that  the  bridge  at  Ardeche  had  been 
washed  away,  and  that  the  one  you  see 
there  would  soon  be  in  pieces.  As  I  was 
not  afraid,  I  stood  on  the  bridge,  and  bent 
my  head  over  the  parapet,  which  is  the 
name  given  to  the  walls  of  a  bridge,  which 
are  built  to  keep  people  from  falling  into 
the  water.  Have  you  ever  seen  in  the 
harbor  at  Marseilles  little  boys  climbing  up 
to  the  tops  of  the  masts  on  ladders  made 
of  rope  1 " 


76  THE    INUNDATION. 

"  Yes,  I  remember  we  saw  one  who  was 
so  high  up  that  he  looked  like  a  little 
child." 

"  There  are  ladders  of  wood  quite  as 
long  on  the  bridge  of  St.  Esprit,  and  sail- 
ors who  are  in  a  hurry  to  get  down  to  the 
river,  or  to  get  up  from  it,  take  that  way 
of  getting  up  and  down.  It  was  on  these 
same  ladders,  shaken  by  the  waves,  that  I 
saw  men  go  down  that  day,  till  they  were 
quite  close  to  the  water.  Each  of  them 
had  in  his  hand  a  long  pole,  with  a  hook 
and  a  sharp  point  at  the  end,  and  they 
kept  watching  for  the  pieces  of  wood  and 
other  things  which  were  floating  down 
with  the  current.  When  anything  came 
within  reach,  they  took  hold  of  it  with 
their  hook,  and  dragged  it  to  them ;  but 
sometimes  it  was  so  large  and  heavy  that 
they  could  scarcely  pull  it  out,  and  more 
than  once  I  have  seen  these  strong  boat- 
men totter,  and  nearly  fall,  with  the  things 


THE  .INUNDATION.  77 

they  were  trying  to  catch.  The  islands 
you  see  there,  and  these  beautiful  green 
trees  were  buried  under  the  water.  All 
round  there  was  nothing  to  be  seen  but  a 
great  yellow  sea,  with  trees  and  planks  of 
wood,  pieces  of  furniture,  and  all  manner 
of  things  floating  on  its  surface.  It  was,  I 
assure  you,  a  very  sad  sight." 

"Why?" 

"  Because  everything  which  the  Rhone 
carried  away  was  so  much  lost  to  some 
poor  person." 

"  We  should  give  them  something." 

"  They  do  not  need  anything  now ;  but 
at  that  time  those  who  had  lost  nothing 
thought,  like  you,  Lily,  that  they  should 
help  those  who  had.  They  helped  them 
to  rebuild  their  houses,  gave  them  corn  to 
sow  their  fields,  and  after  a  few  years,  one 
could  not  tell  where  the  inundation  had 
been ;  but  the  people  who  saw  all  that 
they  had,  carried  away  by  the  water,  often 


78  THE    INUNDATION. 

think  of  that  time.  And  it  is  well  that 
they  should  do  so.  Can  you  tell  me 
why?" 

"  No." 

"  I  shall  tell  you  some  other  time." 


CHAPTER    XL 

THE    SPEAKING-TRUMPET RECOLLECTIONS  — 

THE  FAIR. 

"  LILY,  Francis,  come  on  deck  !  " 

"  Did  you  call  us,  papa  1 " 

"  Yes." 

"  What  a  very  loud  voice  you  have  ! " 

"  As  I  was  on  deck,  and  you  were  below 
in  the  saloon,  I  came  to  the  top  of  the 
stairs  and  spoke  to  you  through  this  tube." 

"  Do  it  again." 

"  Lily  and  Francis,  come  up-stairs  ;  I 
wish  to  show  you  a  country  which  I  love, 
because  it  is  my  native  country.  Do  you 
hear?" 

"  Oh,  yes.     Again !  " 

"  That  is  enough  for  the  present.     You 

79 


80  THE    SPEAKING-TRUMPET. 

don't  know  what  this  tube  is  called.  It  is 
like  a  trumpet.  It  is  called  a  speaking- 
trumpet,  because  we  can  speak  through  it 
as  loud  as  the  blowing  of  a  trumpet. 
Come  here,  Lily ;  put  your  mouth  to  it 
and  call  your  brother." 

"  Francis ! " 

"  Now,  Francis,  it  is  your  turn.  Call 
your  sister." 

«  Lily ! " 

"  You  have  spoken  very  loud." 

"  Papa,  will  you  buy  me  a  speaking- 
trumpet  ? " 

"  I  shall  take  good  care  not  to  do  that. 
You  make  enough  of  noise  with  your 
voice  as  it  is.  But  perhaps  you  think  it  is 
only  a  toy  put  there  to  amuse  children  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Oh,  no,  my  dears  ;  it  is  of  great  use  in 
this  boat.  You  have  seen  the  captain 
speak  from  one  end  of  the  deck  to  some 
of  the  men  at  the  other  end  of  it,  and  you 


THE    SPEAKING-TRUMPET.  81 

could  hear  him  quite  well,  because  it  was 
calm  weather ;  but  sometimes  the  wind 
blows  with  great  fury,  and  the  waves  make 
a  dreadful  noise,  and  if  the  captain  at  such 
a  time  should  have  an  order  to  give,  would 
not  his  voice  be  drowned  by  the  louder 
voices  of  the  wind  and  the  waves "?  " 

"  What  does  he  do  then  ?  " 

"  He  speaks  through  this  trumpet,  and 
every  one  hears  him." 

"  What  did  you  wish  to  show  us  1 " 

"  A  pretty  town,  but  we  cannot  see  it 
yet.  You  see  that  white  road  where  the 
carriages  are  driving,  and  where  the  clouds 
of  dust  are  flying  ;  when  I  was  a  little  boy 
I  often  walked  on  that  road,  climbed  that 
hill  which  you  see  on  the  other  side  of  it, 
and  paid  many  a  visit  to  the  ruins  of  that 
old  tower.  I  could  tell  the  names  of  all 
the  villages  on  the  Rhone,  and  of  the  vil- 
lages in  the  valleys  too.  When  I  was 
young,  I  heard  them  so  often  spoken  of, 


82  RECOLLECTIONS. 

that  now,  when  I  hear  the  name  of  any  of 
them,  it  sounds  to  me  like  the  name  of  a 
friend.  But  you  cannot  understand  how  it 
is  that  I  feel  both  glad  and  sorry  when  I 
see  this  part  of  the  country  again.  I 
wonder  where  all  the  friends  are  who  once 
ran  about  these  woods  and  hills  with  me  ! 
In  a  little  village  at  the  foot  of  that  hill  to 
which  I  am  pointing,  there  lives  one  of 
those  children  who,  like  you,  used  to  be 
always  laughing  and  jumping  about;  but 
she  is  now  lying  in  bed  very  ill,  and  I  fear 
she  may  never  get  better.  And  my 
mother,  who  would  have  loved  you  so 
much  if  she  had  known  you,  —  my  good 
mother  who  was  always  watching  over  me, 
—  where  is  she  ?  " 

"  You  told  us  she  was  in  heaven." 

"  Yes,  my  darlings  ;  and  she  has  now  no 

more  pain  or  sorrow, — she  is  at  rest.    Your 

little  cousin,  too,  who  is  now  lying  ill,  will 

soon  go  and  join  my  mother  in  the  rest 


RECOLLECTIONS.  83 

which  is  prepared  by  the  Lord  Jesus  for 
his  people.  I  hope  that  we,  too,  may  go 
to  heaven  some  day  ;  but  while  we  are 
here,  let  us  try  to  have  a  heavenly  spirit ; 
let  us  love  God,  and  let  us  be  like  him,  — 
kind  to  every  one. 

"  We  are  coming  near  the  town  which  I 
wish  you  to  see.  Look  what  crowds  of 
people  are  on  the  road  !  " 

"  Where  is  the  road  ? " 

"  Quite  near  us.  That  hill  looks  as  if  it 
would  fall  down  on  our  boat,  it  hangs  over 
the  river  so  much.  One  would  think  that 
a  goat  could  not  find  room  between  the 
water  and  the  hill  for  its  little  foot ;  and 
yet,  see !  there  is  a  good  road  there,  I 
assure  you." 

"  Ah  !  there  are  sheep  passing  !  " 

"Yes,  there  is  a  large  nock  of  sheep." 

"  Are  the  shepherds  taking  them  to  some 
place  where  they  will  have  fresh  grass  ? " 

"  No,  my  dear.     I  see  the  farmers  have 


84  RECOLLECTIONS. 

their  best  coats  on ;  they  are  going  to  the 
town  to  sell  their  sheep.  See !  there  is  a 
little  boy  standing  looking  at  us  ;  he  docs 
not  notice  that  his  father  and  his  mother 
have  gone  on  with  the  sheep.  Now  he 
does,  and  begins  to  run  to  make  up  to 
them.  Poor  little  boy,  he  has  tumbled, 
but  he  has  not  hurt  himself,  for  there  he  is 
up  again.  He  has  rubbed  the  dust  off  his 
clothes,  and  is  beginning  to  run  again. 
I  am  sure  he  is  very  happy  to  go  to  the 
town." 

"  There  is  another  flock !  and  now,  look, 
there  are  pigs !  See !  two  of  them  have 
one  of  their  feet  tied  to  a  string,  which  the 
woman  who  is  leading  them  holds  in  her 
hand.  Why  are  their  feet  tied1?  It  will 
hurt  them." 

"  Oh,  no ;  they  must  be  tied  to  keep 
them  from  running  away.  There  is  one 
which  would  have  fallen  into  the  water  if 
it  had  not  been  kept  back  by  the  rope 


RECOLLECTIONS.  85 

round  its  foot.  These  two  men  on  mules, 
who  look  so  proud  as  they  trot  along,  have 
frightened  the  poor  pigs.  There  are  more 
people  all  going  to  the  same  place." 

"  Where  are  they  ?  " 

"  In  a  little  boat.  They  are  coming 
across  the  Rhone.  They  are  quite  near. 
The  boatman  is  rowing  with  all  his  might, 
but  the  current  is  helping  him.  There 
they  are  ;  there  are  two  women  and  three 
little  sheep.  See  how  narrow  their  boat 
is  ;  that  is  the  best  shape  for  getting  easily 
through  the  water.  This  is  the  same 
shape,  though  it  is  longer.  But  boats  of 
this  kind  could  not  stand  the  sea ;  the 
slightest  wind  would  upset  them." 

"  That  one  is  going  to  be  upset.  Oh, 
the  people  will  be  drowned ! " 

"  No,  no,  my  dears  ;  the  tiny  boat  has 
only  got  into  the  waves  which  the  paddles 
of  our  boat  have  made.  Kow  it  has  got 
past  the  waves  ;  it  is  quite  safe  " 


86  THE    FAIR. 

"  Do  you  know  where  all  these  people 
are  going  ? " 

"  They  are  going  to  the  fair." 

"  What  is  a  fair  ? " 

"  It  is  a  place  where  a  great  many  people 
sell  and  buy.  They  sell  sheep,  oxen, 
mules,  indeed,  all  sorts  of  things,  —  cloth 
for  dresses,  leather  for  shoes,  books,  toys, 
sugar-plums.  Children  often  wish  to  go  to 
fairs,  but  their  parents,  who  know  better 
than  they  do,  will  not  allow  it ;  for  there  is 
often  a  great  deal  at  fairs  that  children 
should  not  see  or  hear.  Wherever  a  great 
many  people  are  gathered  together,  there 
are  always  some  wicked  people  among 
them  ;  and  it  is  much  better  for  children 
to  keep  away  from  hearing  wicked  words 
or  seeing  wrong  things.  If  they  were  to 
be  accustomed  to  such  things,  they  might 
soon  learn  to  do  them." 


CHAPTER    XII. 

A    FISHER    OF    TO-DAY    AND   A     FISHER     LONG 
AGO. 

"  THERE  is  a  man  in  a  little  boat !  is  he 
going  to  the  fair  too  1  " 

"  No,  my  dear  ;  do  you  not  see  that  the 
boat  is  always  in  the  same  place1?  It  is 
fastened  to  the  shore.  The  man  is  a  fish- 
erman." 

"  Is  he  catching  fish "?  " 

"  Yes.  Watch  him  for  a  little ;  he 
has  a  long  pole  in  his  hand,  with  a  net 
fastened  to  the  end  of  it ;  there  he  has  put 
it  into  the  water,  now  he  draws  it  up  ;  but 
there  are  no  fish  in  th.e  net.  He  puts  it 
down  again ;  let  us  see  if  he  will  be  more 
fortunate  this  time.  No,  the  net  is  empty. 

87 


88         FISHING,    TO-DAY    AND    LONG    AGO. 

Down  once  more  ;  nothing  yet.  Poor  fish- 
erman !  he  is  wearying  himself  for  no  use. 
Perhaps  he  has  been  here  since  the  morn- 
ing, out  in  the  burning  sun.  I  see  he  has 
not  got  even  one  little  fish  in  his  boat. 
Any  other  person  would  have  lost  patience, 
and  given  it  up  long  ago  ;  but  he  waits  on 
in  hope.  He  has  tried  it  for  the  fourth 
time,  and  it  seems  with  no  better  success, 
for  he  has  put  the  net  into  the  water  again. 
We  cannot  see  him  any  longer.  Good-by, 
fisherman ;  we  wish  you  may  catch  some 
before  you  go  home,  as  a  reward  for  all 
the  trouble  you  have  taken  ;  but  whether 
you  do  or  not,  remember  that  God  is  with 
you,  and  put  your  trust  in  Him." 

"Is  God  with  that  fisherman?" 

"  Yes,  my  darling." 

"  Is  he  with  us,  too  ? " 

"  Oh,  yes,  he  is." 

"  I  do  not  see  him." 

"  He  sees  you." 


FISHING,    TO-DAY    AND    LONG    AGO.          89 

"  But  how   can  I   know   that  he   sees 


"  Well,  listen,  and  I  will  tell  you  a  little 
story.  Several  fishermen  were  sitting  to- 
gether one  evening,  and  one  of  them  said, 
'  I  go  a  fishing.'  He  rose  up.  His  friends 
rose  at  the  same  time,  and  they  all  set  off 
together.  They  got  into  their  boat  and 
worked  hard  all  night,  but  caught  noth- 
ing." 

"  Do  people  fish  in  the  night  ?  " 

"  Yes,  dear." 

"  But  they  cannot  see  well  !  " 

"  It  is  all  the  better.  If  the  fishes  could 
see,  they  would  not  come  near  the  nets, 
nor  let  themselves  be  caught  in  them  so 
easily.  The  story  which  I  am  telling  you, 
happened  two  thousand  years  ago.  Well, 
the  fishermen  at  Marseilles  do  just  as  the 
fishermen  of  Galilee  did  ;  they  go  out  to 
fish  at  night,  and  come  back  in  the  morn- 
ing. 


90         FISHING,    TO-DAY   AND    LONG   AGO. 

"  These  poor  men,  as  I  told  you,  had 
been  out  the  whole  night,  but  had  not 
caught  one  single  fish.  Morning  came, 
but,  patient  like  the  fisher  we  have  just 
seen,  they  were  still  at  work,  hoping  al- 
ways that  the  next  throw  of  the  net  would 
bring  them  something.  Suddenly  a  man 
appeared  at  the  side  of  the  water." 

"What  did  he  do  T' 

"  He  turned  to  them  and  said,  '  Children, 
have  you  any  fish  ? '  They  said,  '  No.' 
Although  they  had  been  out  all  night,  they 
had  not  one  fish,  not  even  the  smallest 
thing.  This  man  said  to  them,  '  Cast  the 
net  on  the  right  side  of  the  boat,  and  you 
will  find  some.'  They  put  it  down,  and  it 
was  soon  so  heavy  with  the  number  of 
fishes  in  it,  that  they  could  not  pull  it  up 
again. 

"  Do  you  know  who  this  man  was  ?" 

"  No." 

"  One  of  the  fishers  guessed,  and  said, 


FISHING,    TO-DAY   AND   LONG   AGO.         91 

'It  is  the  Lord.'  Another  fisherman, 
called  Peter,  on  hearing  that,  threw  him- 
self into  the  sea,  that  he  might  get  the 
sooner  to  his  Lord." 

"  And  then  what  happened  ?  " 
"  Those  who  remained  in  the  boat  came 
to  the  shore,  dragging  the  net  filled  with 
fishes.  So  before  they  saw  the  Lord  Je- 
sus, he  saw  them.  He  saw  them  when 
they  were  in  the  house,  when  they  were 
on  their  way  to  fish,  and  when  they  were 
in  the  boat.  Every  time  they  cast  their 
net  into  the  sea,  and  drew  it  up  empty, 
the  Lord  saw  them.  Like  you,  my  dear, 
they  thought  they  were  alone  ;  but  the 
eye  of  their  Master  was  on  them.  I  am 
quite  sure  that  they  never  forgot  that 
night  ;  and  afterwards,  when  they  were  ill, 
or  poor,  or  in  prison,  do  you  think  that 
they  were  sad  and  without  any  hope  "?  No  ; 
they  said,  '  The  Lord  is  with  us,  as  he  was 
that  night  we  were  out  fishing.  We  do 


92         FISHING,    TO-DAY    AND    LONG    AGO. 

not  see  him,  but  he  sees  us.'  And  they 
had  no  fear. 

"  Ah  !  there,  at  last,  is  the  town  which  I 
wished  you  to  see.  Here  is  the  landing- 
place  ;  the  bell  is  ringing.  What  crowds  of 
people  are  running  to  see  the  boat  arrive  !  " 

"  Are  these  people  your  friends  ? " 

"  Oh  no  ;  1  have  not  so  many.  Not  one 
of  them  knows  me,  and  I  don't  know  any  of 
them.  My  friends  did  not  know  we  were 
to  pass  this  morning,  or  they  might  have 
come  to  see  us." 

"  Shall  we  go  to  see  them  ? " 

"  The  boat  would  go  away  without  us. 
It  only  stops  a  few  minutes  to  take  in  or 
land  passengers.  There  are  people  com- 
ing to  sell  things,  but  they  take  care  not 
to  come  to  our  end  of  the  boat." 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  Because  they  are  afraid  the  boat  might 
carry  them  away.  I  was  sailing  down  the 
Rhone  some  years  ago,  and  the  boat  stop- 


FISHING,    TO-DAY    AND    LONG    AGO.          93 

ped  a  few  minutes  just  as  it  has  done  now. 
A  woman  selling  cherries  came  on  board, 
and  while  she  was  bargaining  with  a  gen- 
tleman who  wished  to  purchase  all  she 
had  in  her  basket,  the  paddles  began  to 
move.  The  poor  woman  rushed  to  the 
side  of  the  boat  where  she  had  come  in  ; 
it  was  too  late.  She  began  to  weep  ;  she 
begged  the  captain  to  stop  the  boat  and 
let  her  out ;  it  was  all  hi  vain.  Some  of 
the  passengers  thought  he  had  played  her 
a  very  clever  trick,  and  laughed  at  the  poor 
woman. 

"  It  was  very  wicked  of  them  to  do  so, 
because  the  woman  was  very  poor.  She 
lost  half  a  day ;  and  besides,  she  had  left 
several  little  children  at  home,  who  needed 
their  mother  to  give  them  their  dinner,  and 
take  them  to  school. 

"  Well,  do  you  know  what  we  did  \  The 
passengers  who  were  very  sorry  for  the 
poor  woman  gathered  a  little  money  for  her, 


94         FISHING,   TO-DAY   AND    LONG   AGO. 

and  put  it  into  her  hand  as  she  went  out 
of  the  boat,  to  help  her  to  get  back  to  Val- 
ence." 

"  Was  she  pleased  t " 

"  Oh,  very  much  so." 

"  We  only  a  few  minutes  ago  stopped  ; 
and  see,  we  are  going  off  again  already. 
Look  what  a  crowd  of  people  are  buying 
and  selling.  The  people  who  are  bring- 
ing things  to  sell  are  standing  on  shore,  and 
the  people  who  wish  to  buy  are  standing 
at  the  side  of  the  boat.  They  are  throw- 
ing the  money  and  the  things  for  sale  into 
the  air  backwards  and  forwards,  at  the  risk 
of  everything  falling  into  the  Rhone.  The 
boat  is  moving.  There  is  a  man  leaning 
forward  to  catch  a  bunch  of  radishes  which 
some  one  is  holding  out  to  him.  They 
have  in  vain  stretched  out  their  arms  from 
each  side,  their  hands  cannot  reach  each 
other,  there  is  a  gap  between  them.  Now 
the  passenger  will  have  his  radishes ;  the 


FISHING,    TO-DAY   AND    LONG   AGO.         95 

woman  has  thrown  them  into  the  boat ,  and 
he  has  thrown  some  coppers  to  her  on  the 
quay.  The  quay  seems  to  go  away  with  all 
the  people  on  it,  and  the  town  will  soon  be 
out  of  sight.  Good-bye,  Valence !  Now, 
children,  come  to  dinner." 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  BARGES  THE    MEETING    OF    THE  RHONE 

AND  THE  ISERE. 

"  PAPA,  there  are  horses  in  a  barge." 

"  They  are  going  down  the  river,  and  we 
are  going  up." 

"  They  do  not  move  at  all." 

"  No,  they  are  ranged  in  a  line,  and  keep 
their  places  like  soldiers  under  arms." 

"  There  is  one  putting  down  his  head. 
He  is  drinking  some  of  the  water  of  the 
Rhone." 

"  The  water  reaches  to  his  very  mouth ; 
it  touches  the  deck  of  the  barge  ;  it  looks  as 
if  it  would  go  into  it.  But  that  would  be 
a  sad  thing.  There  is  a  little  in  it  which 

96 


THE   BARGES.  97 

has  got  in  through  the  joints  in  the  wood, 
and  do  you  see  what  the  bargeman  is  do- 
ing "?  He  is  busy  lifting  the  water  in  a 
kind  of  bowl,  and  pouring  it  out  as  fast  as 
he  can.  And  do  you  know  why  the  cap- 
tain has  made  the  engine  be  stopped  while 
we  are  passing  ] " 

"  No." 

"  Because  the  waves  made  by  the  paddles 
of  our  boat  might  have  rushed  into  the 
barge  and  made  it  sink." 

"  I  should  like  to  see  the  horses  again." 

"  Perhaps  we  shall  see  some  more  as  we 
go  on." 

"  Where  are  they  going  1 " 

"  To  Beaucaire." 

"  What  are  they  going  to  do  there  ?  " 

"  You  shall  know  by  and  by." 

"  Lily,  mamma  is  calling  you  ;  she  wish- 
es to  show  you  something  at  the  other  side 
of  the  boat.  I  shall  stay  here  with  Francis ; 

7 


98  THE    BARGES. 

he  is  looking  out  for  a  barge,  so  if  you 
should  see  one  you  will  tell  us." 

"  O  papa,  how  dirty  the  water  is !  " 

"  No,  papa,  it  is  not  dirty." 

"  It  is  muddy,  like  that  we  had  at  din- 
ner." 

"  It  is  quite  clear." 

"  Mamma,  is  that  water  not  muddy  1 " 

"  Yes,  Lily,  it  is." 

"  Papa,  is  that  water  not  clear  ? " 

"  Yes,  my  little  man." 

"  Francis,  mamma  says  that  it  is  muddy." 

"  Lily,  papa  says  that  it  is  clear." 

"  It  is  muddy." 

"  It  is  clear." 

"  That  is  not  true." 

"  It  is  true." 

"  Children,  I  wish  you  to  change  places. 
Francis,  you  will  go  to  your  mamma ;  Lily, 
come  beside  me.  Look !  " 

"  It  is  clear  just  now  ! " 

"  And  you,  Francis,  how  do  you  see  it  \ " 


THE  BARGES.  99 

"  That  water  is  muddy." 

"  Lily,  give  me  your  hand  ;  we  shall  go 
and  sit  down  beside  mamma  and  Francis. 
But  what  is  the  meaning  of  this  1  The 
water  is  clear  on  one  side  and  muddy  on 
the  other !  As  the  boat  goes  on  its  beauti- 
ful color  comes  back.  We  only  see  a  few 
whitish  spots  like  little  clouds  in  a  clear  blue 
sky,  and  even  these,  you  see,  are  all  away 
now. 

"  But  you  don't  understand  it,  do  you  1 

"  Well,  do  you  see  that  river  to  the  right, 
rolling  its  muddy  waves,  it  looks  as  if  it 
were  coming  to  us  1  That  is  the  Isere ;  it 
has  mixed  its  waters  with  the  blue  waters 
of  the  Rhone,  and  made  them  muddy. 

"But  when  Lily  went  beside  her  mamma, 
the  waters  of  the  two  rivers  were  not  yet 
mixed  together ;  there  was  muddy  water  on 
Lily's  side,  and  clear  water  on  Francis'  side ; 
the  meeting  of  the  waters  was  under  our 
boat.  The  children,  then,  were  both  right. 


100  THE    BARGES. 

But  they  were  wrong  in  saying  to  each  other 
that  they  were  not  telling  the  truth.  They 
must  remember  that  things  seem  very  un- 
like when  they  are  looked  at  from  dif- 
ferent places." 

"  Papa,  I  see  one,  two,  three  steamboats." 

"  Are  you  speaking  of  these  barges  near 
the  shore  1     These  are  not  steamboats." 
"  But  I  have  seen  smoke." 

"  That  may  be  ;  the  men  must  have  a 
fire  to  cook  their  dinners.  These  barges 
don't  go  so  fast  as  our  boat ;  they  seem  as 
if  they  were  standing  still ;  we  must  look  at 
them  a  long  time  before  we  can  see  that 
they  are  going  at  all.  Do  you  know  what 
drives  them  on  \  " 

"  No." 

"  Have  they  paddles  1 " 

"  No  ;  there  are  no  paddles." 

"Or  sails]" 

"  No. " 

"  Or  rowers  1 " 


THE   BARGES.  101 

"  No ;  there  are  no  rowers.  They  go 
quite  alone." 

"  Oh  no  ;  if  they  were  alone  they  would 
not  go  up  the  river,  they  would  go  down. 
Do  you  not  remember  that  this  morning, 
when  our  boat  stopped  for  a  few  minutes, 
we  threw  a  cork  into  the  water?  Did  it 
go  up  the  river  against  the  running  water  ? " 

"  No ;  it  floated  away  down  towards 
Marseilles." 

"  Oh  yes  ;  I  remember  you  said  to  it, — 
'A  pleasant  voyage,  cork.' ' 

"  And  an  instant  afterwards  we  lost  sight 
of  it ;  did  we  not  ?  But  if  we  had  fastened 
a  piece  of  cord  to  the  cork,  and  given  it 
to  Lily  to  hold  in  her  hand,  would  it  have 
sailed  away  down  to  Marseilles  ?  " 

"  No  ;  I  would  have  pulled  it,  and  it 
would  have  come  to  Geneva  with  me." 

"  Well !  what  we  did  for  the  cork,  others 
have  done  for  these  barges." 

"  But  I  do  not  see  the  cord." 


102  THE    BARGES. 

"  It  is  not  a  piece  of  cord,  but  a  rope,  or 
rather  several  ropes  joined  together,  which 
is  called  a  cable." 

"  And  who  pulls  it?     A  man  ? " 

"  No ;  a  man  would  not  be  strong  enough. 
Look  over  there." 

"  I  see  horses  ;  what  a  great  many  !  I 
shall  count  them.  One,  two,  three,  four, 
five,  —  there  are  nineteen.  They  have 
been  resting  a  few  minutes*.  Now  they  are 
off  again.  Some  on  the  horse  path,  and 
the  others  are  walking  in  the  water." 

"  They  will  be  drowned." 

"  Oh  no,  they  are  good  swimmers,  and 
they  always  keep  close  to  the  bank." 

"  How  hard  they  are  pulling  !  " 

"Do  you  hear  the  cries  of  the  men  who 
are  driving  them  on  ] 

"  The  horses  pull  the  cable,  and  make 
the  water  splash  round  it  as  it  is  stretched 
tight.  And  now,  could  you  guess  the  use 


THE   BARGES.  103 

of  these  horses  "which  have  just  passed  us 
going  down  the  Rhone  in  a  barge  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  They  are  going  to  Beaucaire,  to  drag 
boats  like  those  you  see  just  now  to  Lyons. 
So  these  horses  are  never  away  from  the 
Rhone ;  when  they  have  gone  up  the 
river  they  go  down  just  to  go  up  again. 
Would  you  like  to  be  in  one  of  those 
barges  ?  You  would  find  it  very  pleasant ; 
there  is  no  noise  ;  and  they  move  on  so 
smoothly  that  you  can  scarcely  feel  that 
they  are  moving  at  all.  And  then  in  the 
barge  mamma  would  have  time  to  draw 
these  mills  and  bridges,  and  trees,  and  cas- 
tles, for  you,  of  which  you  would  like  so 
much  to  have  a  picture,  but  which  our  boat 
is  now  passing  by  so  quickly. 

"  But  then  the  passage  would  be  a  little 
longer,  and  I  know  you  think  it  long  enough 
as  it  is,  for  you  are  always  asking  if  we 
have  not  come  to  Geneva  yet." 


104  THE    BARGES. 

"  How  long   would   it  be  if   we   we 
dragged  by  these  horses  ?  " 

"  They  have  been  on  the  way  twenfr 
two  days  already,  and  it  will  be  eight  moi 
before  they  reach  Lyons  ;  so  it  is  muc 
better  for  us  to  stay  where  we  are,  for  tc 
morrow,  if  it  is  God's  will,  we  shall  be  a 
the  end  of  our  journey." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE   RAFTS. 

"  How  fast  we  are  going  !  The  barges 
and  the  horses  are  far  away  from  us  al- 
ready. We  are  going  farther  and  farther 
into  this  long,  narrow  valley.  That  hill 
looks  as  if  it  would  stop  us  altogether. 
Shall  we  have  to  get  out  of  the  boat  and 
climb  it,  to  get  to  the  other  side  ?  " 

"  No.  The  Rhone  makes  a  bend,  which 
leads  us  into  another  valley.  These  low 
walls  which  wind  round  the  hills,  like  a 
winding  stair,  are  made  to  keep  the  earth 
upon  the  rocks  from  being  washed  away 
by  the  rain.  The  hills  are  bare  just  now, 
but  a  month  after  this  they  will  be  covered 

105 


106  THE    RAFTS. 

all  over  with  a  beautiful  green  ;  for  vines 
are  grown  there.  We  shall  soon  pass 
under  the  first  iron  bridge  on  the  Rhone. 
In  the  meantime,  I  wish  you  to  see  a  boat 
not  like  any  you  have  ever  seen  before." 
"Where  is  it?" 

"  There  it  is,  passing  by  us  on  that  side." 
"  It  is  not  a  boat,  it  is  a  floor." 
"  Yes  ;  it  is  very  like  a  floor." 
"  Tell  me,  children,  if  we  were  upon  one 
bank  of  the  Rhone  at   the  foot  of  these 
large  trees,  and  Geneva  was   upon  the  op- 
posite side,  how  could  we  get  to  it  ?  " 

"  I  would  ask  grandmamma  to  come  for 
us." 

"  But  she  would  neither  see  nor    hear 
you." 

"  We  should  cross  the  river  by  a  bridge." 

"  Oh  that  would  be  easy  enough  ;  but  if 

there    were    no    bridge,    nor    barge,    nor 

steamboat,  how  could  we  reach  if?     I  could 

swim  across,  and  so  could  Carlo  ;   but  you 


THE-  RAFTS.  107 

cannot  swim,  and  I  should  not  like  to  leave 
you." 

"  I  would  make  a  steamboat." 

"  You  could  not  do  that,  my  boy.  Where 
would  you  get  these  large  pieces  of  wood 
which  you  would  need,  and  if  you  had  them, 
how  could  you  carry  them  away  1  And  the 
boilers  and  the  engines,  they  are  not  to  be 
found  all  ready  made.  You  would  need  to 
go  a  long  way  and  dig  deep  in  the  earth 
before  you  could  get  iron,  and  perhaps  you 
would  not  find  any  at  all ;  but  even  if  you 
had  it,  would  you  be  able  to  cut  it,  or  beat 
it  out,  or  round  it,  or  drill  it  \  You  would 
not  be  able  to  make  even  the  smallest  nail. 

"  And  you,  Lily,  how  would  you  get 
across  the  river  \  " 

"  I  would  make  a  little  boat." 

"  You  are  more  modest  than  your  broth- 
er, but  your  plan  would  not  succeed  any 
better,  even  although  I  were  to  help  you. 
To  make  the  smallest  boat  you  would  need 


108  THE    RAFTS. 

to  have  a  carpenter's  tools, — hatchets,  saws, 
nails,  planes,  &c. ;  and  even  if  you  had 
all  these,  would  you  be  able  to  make  use 
of  them?" 

"  I  might  perhaps  be  able  to  cut  down 
a  tree,  and  after  a  great  deal  of  time  and 
trouble,  saw  it  into  logs ;  but  would  that 
be  enough  ? " 

"  Certainly  not.  You  would  need  to 
put  these  logs  together,  bend  other  large 
pieces  of  wood,  and  make  both  sides  the 
very  same,  so  that  the  boat  would  not  lean 
more  to  one  side  than  the  other. 

"  It  would  not  be  easy  to  do  that ;  and 
besides,  it  would  take  too  much  time.  As 
for  me,  I  would  not  think  of  building 
either  a  steamboat  or  a  barge.  Do  you 
know  what  I  would  do  ?  I  would  cut 
down  a  few  poplar  or  willow  trees,  you 
would  help  your  mother  to  break  off  the 
branches,  and  I  would  make  use  of  them 
as  a  rope  to  tie  the  trunks  together,  and 
there  would  be  my  boat ! 


THE-  RAFTS.  109 

"  Simple  boats  like  these  are  called  rafts. 
And  in  one  thing  they  are  better  than  any 
other  kind  of  ships — they  cannot  founder, 
which  means  that  they  cannot  go  to  the 
bottom." 

"  I  should  like  you  to  make  me  a  little 
raft." 

"  But  in  some  things  they  are  not  so 
good  as  other  boats,  and  I  must  tell  you 
what  they  are.  It  is  more  difficult  to  steer 
them  than  it  is  to  steer  a  common  boat ; 
one  needs  a  great  deal  of  skill  to  guide 
them  over  some  parts  of  the  Rhone  ;  but 
the  worst  thing  about  them  is,  that  these 
logs,  if  they  do  not  go  to  the  bottom  they 
very  easily  come  separate.  Sometimes  a 
knock  against  one  of  the  arches  of  a  bridge 
is  enough  to  break  the  ropes  which  tie  the 
logs  of  a  raft  together,  and  loosen  them 
one  from  the  other." 

"  What  happens  then  ? " 

"  The  goods  which  happen  to  be  on  the 


110  THE   RAFTS. 

raft  fall  into  the  water  and  are  lost,  and 
the  men  are  in  great  danger  of  being 
drowned  if  they  are  not  very  quick  in  catch- 
ing hold  of  one  of  the  logs,  and  keeping 
afloat  in  this  manner  till  help  come  to  them." 
"  Shall  we  see  any  more  rafts  ?  " 
' "  I  don't  think  we  shall ;  they  are  not 
used  so  much  now,  because  it  has  been 
found  that  they  are  the  cause  of  a  great 
many  accidents.  One  of  the  most  dangerous 
places  in  the  river  was  the  bridge  of  St. 
Esprit.  I  have  seen  more  than  one  raft 
dashed  to  pieces  against  it.  I  shall  tell  you 
about  it  some  other  time." 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    BRIDGE    AND    THE    FERRY-BOATS. 

"  PAPA,  is  that  the  bridge  which  you 
wished  to  show  us  1 " 

"  Yes,  my  dear." 

"  It  is  not  very  pretty." 

"  No.  We  have  seen  some  much  prettier 
ones.  At  Avignon,  Bourg,  Saint-Andeal, 
Valence,  the  bridges  are  much  more  ele- 
gant, but  they  are  not  more  useful. 

"  Why  do  people  make  bridges  1  That 
they  may  pass  over  the  river,  is  it  not  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Well,  when  a  bridge  is  strong  enough 
and  broad  enough  to  allow  people  and  car- 
riages or  carts  to  pass  easily,  it  is  all  that 
in 


112        THE    BRIDGE    AND    FERRY-BOATS. 

is  wanted.  That  bridge  was  very  much 
wanted.  You  see  these  two  little  towns, — 
the  one  to  the  right  is  Tain,  that  to  the 
left  is  Tournon ;  they  are  built  exactly 
opposite  each  other.  Before  the  bridge 
was  made  the  people  who  lived  in  these 
towns,  which  you  see  are  very  near  each 
other,  could  not  cross  every  time  they 
might  wish  to  do  so.  They  could  see  one 
another,  and  even  bow  to  one  another, 
from  the  opposite  sides  ;  but  there  was  al- 
ways the  Khone  between  them  to  prevent 
them  from  shaking  hands. 

"  It  is  true  they  could  cross  the  river 
in  a  boat,  but  that  was  not  so  convenient, 
and  could  not  be  done  at  all  hours  of  the 
day  and  night.  Now,  this  bridge  is  just 
like  a  street.  Tain  and  Tournon  are  now 
joined,  and  are  like  parts  of  the  same  town. 
You  can  imagine  it  was  a  happy  sight  for 
them  to  see  the  work  going  on,  —  the 
bridge  rising  out  of  the  water  and  grow- 


THE   BRIDGE    AND    FERRY-BOATS.        113 

ing  by  degrees.  And  the  day  the  bridge 
"was  finished  was  kept  as  a  holiday  by  them. 
At  that  time  this  suspension  bridge  was 
thought  to  be  very  beautiful,  because,  as  I 
told  you,  it  was  the  first  iron  bridge  on  the 
Rhone.  It  was  talked  of  in  all  the  towns 
and  villages,  and  many  people  came  a  long 
way  to  see  it. 

"  But  our  boat  which  stopped  a  few  min- 
utes to  take  in  coals,  is  going  of!  again. 
Take  care,  stay  beside  me  !  The  funnel 
will  be  lowered  immediately  to  let  the  boat 
pass  under  the  bridge.  See,  there  is  the 
funnel  slowly  coming  down !  What  a 
large  mouth,  and  what  a  quantity  of  smoke  ! 
It  is  as  if  we  were  in  a  cloud.  Now  they 
are  raising  it ;  but  it  will  be  down  again  in 
a  minute." 

«  Why  I " 

"  Because  we  have  to  pass  under  another 
bridge." 

"  I  do  not  see  it." 

8 


114        THE    BRIDGE    AND    FERRY-BOATS. 

"  That  is  because  you  think  it  is  a  bridge 
like  that  one  you  have  just  passed.  You 
are  looking  for  arches,  for  iron  chains  ; 
but  there  is  nothing  of  the  kind.  It  is  a 
rope  bridge." 

"  Could  a  cart  pass  over  it  1 " 

«  No." 

"  Or  a  horse  ?  " 

«  No." 

"  Could  Francis  stand  on  if?" 

"  Yes,  papa." 

"  I  don't  think  you  could  ;  however,  we 
shall  try  if  you  could  do  it  or  not.  Here  is 
a  thick  rope  with  which  the  sailors  keep 
hold  of  the  helm,  —  let  us  fasten  it  to  that 
pin  in  the  side  of  the  boat ;  I  shall  hold 
the  other  end  of  it,  and  pull  it  with  all  my 
might,  so  that  it  may  be  well  stretched 
There  it  is.  Now,  Francis,  my  boy,  get 
up  on  this  rope  ;  it  is  not  very  high,  —  you 
can  put  your  foot  on  it  with  a  very  little 
trouble.  You  have  still  one  foot  on  the 


THE    BRIDGE    AND    FERRY-BOATS.         115 

deck,  and  you  are  shaking ;  you  keep  hold 
of  me!" 

"  I  cannot  do  it." 

"  Mamma,  put  this  little  boy  on  the  rope, 
take  his  hand  and  make  him  walk  to  the  end 
of  it.  He  must  find  out  by  trying  it  that 
it  is  more  difficult  to  walk  on  a  rope  than 
he  thought  it  was. 

"  You  see,  my  boy,  that  in  two  steps 
you  have  slipped  four  or  five  times,  al- 
though you  had  hold  of  us  on  each  side. 
What  would  it  be,  then,  if  you  were  to  try 
to  walk  alone  on  that  high  and  long  rope 
bridge  ?  You  would  immediately  fall  into 
the  water. 

"  But,  perhaps,  you  don't  know  why  this 
rope  is  put  across  the  Rhone  ?  I  will  tell 
you.  When  there  is  no  bridge  over  a 
river,  how  do  people  get  across  ? " 

"  They  take  a  boat." 

"  Yes.  You  are  thinking  of  these  two 
pretty  little  towns  which  we  have  left  be- 


116  THE    BRIDGE    AND    FERRY-BOATS. 

hind  us.  When  there  was  no  bridge  and 
no  rope,  those  who  wished  to  go  to  the 
other  side  got  into  a  boat.  But  what  hap- 
pened ?  The  boat  which  set  off  from  Tain 
was  carried  away  by  the  current,  and  when 
it  reached  the  other  side  it  was  a  long  way 
below  Tournon.  Then,  to  prevent  that, 
do  you  know  what  was  done  ?  There  was 
a  high  pole  fixed  on  each  side  of  the 
Rhone,  and  a  rope  fastened  to  each,  well 
stretched,  and  that  was  the  bridge.  That 
was  not  all ;  but  you  will  understand  better 
what  more  I  have  to  tell  you  when  you  see 
another  of  these  bridges.  I  think  we  shall 
very  soon  see  one. 

"  Yes,  I  am  right.  The  rope  is  still  too 
far  away  for  you  to  see  it ;  but  do  you  not 
see  something  over  there  where  my  finger 
is  pointing  to  1 " 

"  I  see  a  boat." 

"  It  is  standing  still,  is  it  not  ?  Can  you 
tell  me  why  it  does  not  come  down  to  us  1" 


THE    BRIDGE    AND    FERRY-BOATS.         117 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  Do  you  not  see  that  it  is  kept  back  by 
a  rope  \  And  that  rope,  what  is  it  fastened 
toT' 

"  To  a  tree  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  To  a  stone  \  " 

"  No.  It  is  fastened  to  that  rope  bridge 
which  crosses  the  Rhone." 

"  Papa,  there  is  a  horse  and  a  cart  in 
that  boat." 

"  There  is  a  workman,  too,  with  a  sack 
on  his  back,  and  two  women  sitting  in  the 
bottom  of  the  boat.  These  people  wish  to 
get  to  the  other  side  of  the  river." 

"  They  are  not  moving." 

"  Because  the  boatman  is  waiting  till 
our  boat  has  passed ;  he  would  not  like 
our  boat  to  run  against  his.  See,  he  is 
beginning  to  row  now ;  just  as  the  boat 
glides  over  the  water  the  rope  slips  along 
the  bridge  ;  the  rope  and  the  ferry-boat  go 
on  at  the  same  time." 


118        THE    BRIDGE    AND    FERRY-BOA.TS. 

"  What  is  a  ferry-boat  1  " 

"  That  is  the  name  given  to  boats  which 
carry  people  from  one  side  of  the  river 
to  the  other." 

"  And  if  the  rope  bridge  should  break  ? " 

"  Then  the  ferry-boat  would  be  carried 
away  by  the  current.  And  it  would  be 
very  troublesome  to  get  it  back  again. 
When  we  were  coming  back  from  Geneva, 
about  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  we  saw  an 
accident  of  that  kind ;  it  happened  a  little 
below  where  we  are  now. 

"  Where  are  we  just  now "?  " 

"  We  have  just  passed  two  little  villages, 
—  Serriere  and  Sablons,  —  opposite  each 
other  on  the  river.  Do  you  not  remember 
I  pointed  out  to  you  that  all  the  houses  are 
new  ?  Four  years  ago  the  Rhone  carried 
them  away,  and  they  have  been  built  again 
quite  as  near  the  water  as  they  were  before. 

"  As  I  told  you  before,  the  rain»had  been 
pouring  down  for  several  days,  end  the 
Rhone  rose  very  high.  We  were  going 


THE    BRIDGE    AND    FERRY-BOATS.         119 

faster  than  we  are  doing  just  now,  because 
we  were  going  down.  Suddenly  one  of 
the  men  called  out,  There  is  a  boat  at  the 
bridge  ;  but  the  rope  was  not  high  enough 
for  our  boat  to  pass  under  it,  and  it  was 
not  low  enough  to  let  it  pass  over  it ;  it 
blocked  up  the  way.  The  sailors  began  to 
cry  out  with  all  their  might,  Ahoy !  ahoy ! 
But  no  one  appeared  on  the  shore,  and  we 
were  going  very  fast.  Then  the  passen- 
gers got  frightened  ;  they  thought  the  rope 
was  going  to  upset  the  boat,  or  sweep  away 
everything  on  deck ;  they  threw  them- 
selves down  on  their  faces.  But  what  hap- 
pened ] " 

"  Did  the  rope  stop  the  boat  I " 
"No.  It  was  not  strong  enough  to  do 
that.  The  boat  dragged  the  rope',  and  in 
a  moment  the  high  posts  at  each  end  of  it 
were  torn  up  and  thrown  down,  and  the 
bridge  was  gone." 

"  Is  there  not  one  now  ? " 


120        THE    BRIDGE    AND    FERRY-BOATS.    ' 

"  Oh,  it  was  soon  put  up  again,  I  think. 
But,  although  that  accident  did  not  do 
much  harm,  we  were  very  sorry  for  it,  for 
the  captain  told  us  that  the  bridge  belonged 
to  a  poor  man,  who  was  obliged  to  pay  for 
putting  it  up  again,  when  he  had  scarcely 
enough  money  to  buy  bread  for  his  fam- 
ily." 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

THE   MOUNTAINS. 

"  ANOTHER  night  is  passed !  You  are 
wearying,  I  fear,  my  darlings  ;  but  here 
are  plenty  of  things  to  amuse  you.  There 
are  your  painted  bricks.  You  may  build 
palaces,  churches,  and  castles,  and  when 
you  are  tired  playing  with  them,  you  can 
go  and  look  out  at  the  cabin  windows, 
where  you  will  see  beautiful  fields,  and 
trees  and  houses  as  we  sail  along.  Each  of 
you  may  take  a  window  at  opposite  sides 
of  the  boat,  and  then  you  can  tell  each 
other  what  you  see  as  we  pass.  Sometimes 
it  will  be  grassy  banks  with  tall  poplars 

growing  on  them,  —  mills  with  wheels  turn- 
121 


122  THE   MOUNTAINS. 

ing  round,  — little  bridges  crossing  the 
streams  which  are  rushing  away  down  to 
the  Rhone,  —  or  boats  filled  with  horses 
or  goods.  And  when  you  are  tired  of  look- 
ing out  of  the  window  in  the  saloon,  you 
may  go  and  walk  on  deck,  and  every 
few  minutes  you  will  see  something  new 
and  beautiful.  Have  you  counted  all  the 
bridges  at  which  the  funnel  has  had  to  be 
let  down,  so  that  our  boat  might  pass  under 
them  1 " 

"  Yes,  papa." 

"  How  many  have  we  passed  \ " 

"  Three." 

"  Three,  that  is  not  many.  But  I  rather 
think  that  you  cannot  count  more  than 
three,  my  little  Francis.  Do  you  remem- 
ber all  the  towns  we  have  seen  on  the 
side  of  the  water,  —  Avignon,  St.  Esprit, 
Bourg,  St.  Andeal,  Valence,  Tournon,  St. 
Vallin?  And  these  hills  covered  with 
vines,  and  these  corn-fields  and  mead- 


THE    MOUNTAINS.  123 

ows,  looking  at  a  distance  like  carpets  of 
all  colors  ?  And  these  castles  in  ruins, 
and  these  old  towers,  standing  like  senti- 
nels on  the  tops  of  the  hills  ?  Is  not  all 
that  very  beautiful  ?  But  you  would  like 
to  be  at  Geneva,  and  I  am  sure  you  will  be 
very  glad  when  we  can  say  to  you,  there  it 
is." 

"  Can  you  see  it  from  here  ?  " 

"  No.  There  is  a  screen  of  hills  be- 
tween us  and  it." 

"  The  hills  are  not  a  screen." 

"  No,  my  dear  ;  but  they  get  that  name 
because  they  hide  what  is  behind  them  just 
as  a  curtain  or  a  screen  does." 

"  We  must  draw  this  curtain." 

"  It  is  not  so  easy  to  draw  it  as  a  win- 
dow curtain.  A  little  child  can  open  a 
window  curtain,  but  no  one  can  open  or 
move  a  screen  of  hills  but  God  who  made 
them  and  put  them  there." 

"  And  why  does  he  not  take  it  away  ?  " 


124  THE    MOUNTAINS. 

"  Because  there  is  no  need  for  doing  so." 

"  But  we  wish  to  pass,  and  these  hills 
are  in  our  way." 

"  Oh,  don't  trouble  yourself,  we  shall 
find  a  way.  We  must  first  go  up  and  then 
down  the  other  side,  and  after  we  have 
gone  up  and  down  the  hills  a  good  many 
times,  we  shall  be  at  Geneva,  if  it  please 
God." 

"  I  do  not  like  these  naughty  mountaina 
that  hinder  us  from  seeing  far." 

"  Yet  they  are  very  beautiful,  are  thej 
not  ?  They  are  so  high,  they  look  as  if 
they  were  touching  the  sky ;  their  top? 
are  covered  with  snow.  But  besides,  the] 
are  very  useful.  Do  you  know  that  if 
there  were  no  mountains  there  would  be 
no  steamboats  like  this  one  ? " 

"Why?" 

"  What  is  this  deck  made  of  on  which 
we  are  walking  ? " 

"  Of  wood." 


THE   MOUNTAINS.  125 

"  A  great  deal  of  wood  and  many  large 
trees  are  needed  to  make  a  boat  like  this ; 
and  where  do  the  tall  fir-trees  grow  which 
mamma  has  so  often  told  you  about  ?  Do 
you  know  ?  " 

"  No.     Where  is  it  ?  " 

"  They  grow  on  high  places,  high  up  on 
the  mountain's  sides.  If  there  were  no 
mountains  there  would  be  no  fir-trees,  and 
if  there  were  no  fir-trees  there  would  be 
no  steamboats  like  this." 

"  Then  we  should  go  in  a  coach." 

"  But  coaches,  too,  are  made  of  wood, 
and  very  often  of  fir.  There  would  be 
neither  coaches  nor  boats." 

"  I  should  take  a  horse." 

"  Very  good,  my  boy ;  but  to  ride  on  a 
horse  you  would  need  to  learn  to  keep 
yourself  on  it.  And  even  after  you  were  a 
good  rider,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  travel 
in  that  way.  Such  a  little  boy  as  you 
are  would  soon  get  tired  of  being  shaken 


126  THE    MOUNTAINS. 

on  the  horse's  back.  Your  arm  and  your 
hand  would  be  weary  with  holding  the  bri- 
dle ;  and  when  you  got  to  the  inn  where 
you  were  to  rest  for  the  night,  you  would 
very  likely  be  more  tired  than  your  horse. 

"  But  I  have  something  more  to  tell 
you.  To  ride  on  horseback  you  must  first 
have  a  horse,  must  you  not?  Well,  per- 
haps you  might  not  have  one." 

"Why?" 

"  Do  you  know  what  horses  are  fed  on  1 " 

"  On  hay." 

"•  And  who  makes  the  hay  grow  ?  " 

"  The  good  God." 

"  Yes.  It  is  he  who  gives  the  sun  and 
the  rain  to  make  it  spring.  But  the  rain 
which  falls  from  the  clouds  is  not  enough  ; 
the  meadows  are  watered  in  another  way." 

"  Oh  yes,  by  the  rivers." 

"  And  the  rivers,  where  do  they  come 
from  ?  You  don't  know  ;  they  come  from 
the  mountains ;  so,  if  there  were  no  moun- 


.THE    MOUNTAINS. 

tains,  there  would  be  no  rivers  ;  and  if 
there  were  no  rivers,  there  would  be  very 
little  hay ;  and  if  there  were  little  hay. 
there  would  be  few  horses.  You  see  now 
how  useful  mountains  are." 

"  Now  I  love  them  very  much." 

"  Well,  you  will  see  a  great  many  by- 
and-by,  for  we  shall  soon  be  in  a  country 
of  mountains." 

"  Are  we  not  in  a  country  of  mountains 
now  1 " 

"  No,  my  dears,  we  only  left  Condrieux 
this  morning." 

"What  is  Condrieux  ?" 

"  It  is  a  little  town  ;  I  thought  you  knew 
it.  I  forgot  that  you  were  asleep  when  the 
boat  started  this  morning,  but  last  night  it 
stopped  in  front  of  the  white  houses  of 
that  village. 

"  When  we  arrived  there,  a  number  of 
people  were  waiting  for  us  on  the  shore, 
and  the  plank  had  scarcely  been  put  down 


128  THE    MOUNTAINS. 

from  the  boat  on  the  quay,  when  the  deck 
was  covered  with  little  children.  The  sail- 
ors took  them  by  the  hand  and  went  on 
shore  with  them.  And  what  do  you  think 
I  did  ]  I  shall  tell  you  after  dinner." 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

THE   FARM-HOUSE. 

"  PAPA,  you  promised  to  tell  us  some- 
thing." 

"  Oh,  it  was  about  a  visit  to  a  farm  near 
the  little  town  of  Condrieux.  Your  little 
brother  wished  for  a  little  milk,  and  I 
went  out  to  try  and  get  some  for  him. 
I  did  not  know  where  to  go ;  but  when  I 
got  into  one  of  the  streets,  I  saw  a  woman 
standing  at  the  corner  of  it  calling  to  her 
little  girl,  who  was  singing,  and  laughing, 
and  dancing  with  her  young  companions. 
Her  aother  called  more  than  once,  — '  Lou- 
"se '  come  here,  my  child.' ' 

«    Did  the  little  girl  come  ? " 

9  129 


130  THE   FARM-HOUSE. 

"  No.  Perhaps  she  did  not  hear  her 
mother  call  to  her,  for  she  did  not  come. 
But  then  I  thought,  since  this  woman  is  a 
mother,  she  must  love  all  little  children,  and 
perhaps  she  will  be  kind  enough  to  tell  me 
where  I  can  buy  milk  for  Lily,  and  Francis, 
and  Harry.  And  I  was  not  mistaken ;  for 
she  even  offered  to  go  with  me  to  a  farm 
where  milk  was  sold,  although  it  was  out 
of  the  village,  and  I  was  a  stranger  to  her. 
She  was  very  kind  and  good,  and  we  must 
try  to  be  like  her,  for  God  tells  us  in  the 
Bible  that  we  must  be  kind  to  every  one, 
even  if  they  are  strangers  to  us.  The  road 
to  the  farm  was  along  a  pretty  footpath, 
through  the  fields  ;  the  moon  was  shining 
bright ;  and  we  had  a  pleasant  walk." 
"  Were  the  stars  shining  too  1  " 
"  Yes,  the  stars  were  beautiful.  After 
crossing  a  little  wooden  bridge,  and  walk- 
ing down  an  avenue  of  trees,  whose 
•branches  met  at  the  top  and  looked  like  a 


THE    FARM-HOUSE.  131 

green  roof  over  the  road,  we  came  to  a  large 
gate.  The  kind  woman  who  was  with  me 
opened  the  gate,  and  we  went  into  a  court. 
A  dog  hearing  the  gate  open,  came  running 
to  meet  us,  barking  very  loud." 

"  Did  he  bite  you  V 

"  Oh  no ;  he  looked  very  good  iiatured, 
and  I  thought  his  master  must  be  good- 
natured  too." 

"  Why  r 

"  Because  they  had  chosen  a  watch-dog 
which  would  not  hurt  any  one.  We  went 
up  a  long  flight  of  stairs,  which  led  to  the 
kitchen ;  it  was  clean  and  tidy  ;  the  table 
was  laid  for  supper  ;  the  mother  had  just 
taken  the  soup  off  the  fire,  for  it  was  smok- 
ing in  the  plates.  The  woman  who  was 
with  me  asked  if  they  had  any  milk  to  sell. 
We  have  very  little,  answered  a  young  girl, 
as  she  placed  chairs  for  us  to  sit  down ;  but 
you  shall  have  all  that  we  can  give  you. 
She  went  for  a  basin  of  milk,  and  filling 


132  THE    FARM-HOUSE. 

two  large  measures  with  milk,  poured  it  into 
a  bottle ;  in  doing  so,  she  let  some  drops 
fall  on  the  table,  and  her  mother,  to  make 
up  for  what  had  been  spilt,  took  more 
milk  out  of  the  basin  and  put  it  into  the 
bottle. 

"  '  How  much  do  I  owe  you  ? '  I  said  to 
the  farmer's  wife." 

"  '  One  penny.' 

"  '  Only  a  penny,  and  the  bottle  is  quite 
full !  It  seems  that  milk  is  very  plenti- 
ful here  and  very  scarce  some  miles  further 
down  the  river.' " 

«  '  Why  so  ? '  said  the  farmer's  wife." 

" '  Because  the  landlord  of  the  hotel 
made  us  pay  much  more  than  that.' ' 

"  '  How  much  did  he  ask  you  to  pay  for 
a  bottle  of  milk  ? ' " 

" '  Eighteenpence.' " 

" '  But  surely  the  bottle  he  gave  was 
larger  than  this  one,  sir, '  said  the  farm- 
er's wife.  '  I  know  there  are  people 


THE    F ARM-HOUSE.  133 

who  charge  strangers  four  or  five  times 
the  price  they  ought  to  pay,  but  we 
always  ask  the  same  price.  May  God 
keep  us  from  cheating.' " 

"  '  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  speak  in  that 
way, '  I  said  to  her.  '  You  will  not  lose 
by  trying  to  please  God.  He  makes  them 
prosper  who  love  him.  He  will  bless 
your  honest  labors  and  give  you  good 
crops.  May  peace  rest  on  your  house.' 

"  The  farmer  at  that  moment  came  in  ; 
he  had  heard  my  last  words.  '  Thank 
you,  sir,'  he  said,  and  he  shook  my  hand  so 
warmly  that  if  it  had  been  your  little  hand 
instead  of  mine,  you  would  have  screamed 
out." 

"  Did  he  hurt  you  I " 

"  He  did  not  hurt  me,  but  he  pressed 
my  hand  very  hard.  Then  I  said  good-by 
to  these  good  people,  and  came  back  to 
the  village  with  the  kind  woman  who  had 
been  my  guide." 

"  What  is  a  guide  1  " 


132  THE   FARM-HOUSE. 

two  large  measures  with  milk,  poured  it  into 
a  bottle ;  in  doing  so,  she  let  some  drops 
fall  on  the  table,  and  her  mother,  to  make 
up  for  what  had  been  spilt,  took  more 
milk  out  of  the  basin  and  put  it  into  the 
bottle. 

"  '  How  much  do  I  owe  you  ? '  I  said  to 
the  farmer's  wife." 

"  '  One  penny.' 

"  '  Only  a  penny,  and  the  bottle  is  quite 
full !  It  seems  that  milk  is  very  plenti- 
ful here  and  very  scarce  some  miles  further 
down  the  river.' " 

"  '  Why  so  ? '  said  the  farmer's  wife." 

" '  Because  the  landlord  of  the  hotel 
made  us  pay  much  more  than  that.' ' 

"  '  How  much  did  he  ask  you  to  pay  for 
a  bottle  of  milk  1 ' " 

" '  Eighteenpence.' " 

" '  But  surely  the  bottle  he  gave  was 
larger  than  this  one,  sir, '  said  the  farm- 
er's wife.  '  I  know  there  are  people 


THE    FARM-HOUSE.  133 

who  charge  strangers  four  or  five  times 
the  price  they  ought  to  pay,  but  we 
always  ask  the  same  price.  May  God 
keep  us  from  cheating.' " 

"  '  I  am  glad  to  hear  you  speak  in  that 
way, '  I  said  to  her.  '  You  will  not  lose 
by  trying  to  please  God.  He  makes  them 
prosper  who  love  him.  He  will  bless 
your  honest  labors  and  give  you  good 
crops.  May  peace  rest  on  your  house.' 

"  The  farmer  at  that  moment  came  in  ; 
he  had  heard  my  last  words.  '  Thank 
you,  sir,'  he  said,  and  he  shook  my  hand  so 
warmly  that  if  it  had  been  your  little  hand 
instead  of  mine,  you  would  have  screamed 
out." 

"  Did  he  hurt  you  ?  " 

"  He  did  not  hurt  me,  but  he  pressed 
my  hand  very  hard.  Then  I  said  good-by 
to  these  good  people,  and  came  back  to 
the  village  with  the  kind  woman  who  had 
been  my  guide." 

"  What  is  a  guide  ]  " 


134  THE    FARM-HOUSE. 

"  It  is  a  person  who  shows  you  the  way 
when  you  do  not  know  it  yourself.  As  we 
went  back  to  the  village  I  asked  my  guide 
about  her  family.  She  told  me  that  her 
husband  and  her  eldest  son  were  em- 
ployed in  the  steamboats  on  the  Saone. 
The  Saone  is  a  river  which  joins  the 
Rhone  below  Lyons.  '  My  second  son 
works  in  one  of  the  "  Eagle "  Company's 
boats,  and  my  youngest  son  is  at  college. 
He  wishes  to  be  a  clergyman.'  '  My  good 
woman,'  I  said  to  her,  '  since  your  son 
wishes  to  spend  his  life  in  telling  men 
about  the  great  love  of  God,  I  hope  his 
own  heart  may  be  filled  with  love  both  to 
God  and  man,  so  that  he  may  be  a  good 
servant  of  Christ.'  I  thanked  her  once 
more,  when  I  said  good-by,  and  we  went 
on  our  different  ways,  —  she  to  her  house 
and  I  to  the  boat."  ,  , 

"  And  did  you  see  little  Louise  I " 

"  What  little  Louise  T 


THE    FARM-HOUSE  . 


135 


"  The  little  girl  that  her  mother  called." 
"  Ah  !     I  had  forgotten    her.     We  did 
not  see  her  again  on  the  shore.     It  was 
dark,  and  she  must  have  gone  home." 
"  Tell  us  another  story,  mamma." 
"  I  will,  at  another  time." 
"  But  we  wish  to  hear  it  now." 
"  You  are  just  like  baby,  you  would  like 
to  have  your  story  just  as  he  must  have  his 
food,  —  immediately  ;  but  as  you  are  older 
than  he  is,  you  must  learn  to  be  patient, 
and  wait  till  mamma  pleases  to  tell  you. 
She  is  going  to  write  letters  now." 

"  Oh  yes.     Will  she  write  a  letter   for 
usT' 

"  Oh  yes.     She  will." 


-  ROOM 


N.  Y. 


138  A    LETTER    TO    A    FRIEND. 

often  looks  at  them,  because  I  told  her 
that  there  were  white  mountains  at  Geneva 
too.  The  mountain  of  Veutoux  has  at- 
tracted her  attention  very  much.  It  is 
true  that  at  every  step  we  have  had  a  new 
view  to  admire  ;  but  this  mountain  for  a 
great  part  of  the  way  has  crowned  all  the 
scenes  which  have  been  spread  out  before 
us  ;  it  was  always  to  be  seen  in  the  distance 
like  a  faithful  friend,  not  wishing  to  go 
away  from  us.  It  is  like  an  immense 
sugar-loaf,  and  so  reminds  us  of  the  Mole 
at  Geneva ;  it  is  half  covered  with  snow, 
and  is  now  fading  away  in  the  distance, 
till  it  almost  looks  like  a  white  cloud. 

"  I  am  wrriting  very  early  in  the  morn- 
ing, my  dear  friend,  hoping  to  post  this 
letter  at  Vienne,  where  we  are  to  stop  for 
a  few  minutes.  Last  night  we  slept  at 
Condrieux.  Several  hours  before  we  got 
there,  there  was  a  great  bustle  on  deck ; 
we  did  not  know  why  the  men  were  all 


A   LETTER  TO    A    FRIEND.  139 

running  about  dressed  in  their  best  clothes. 
At  last  the  boat  stopped  at  Condrieux,  and 
we  found  out  why  they  were  all  in  such  a 
bustle,  when  we  were  told  that  that  little 
town  was  the  native  place  of  almost  all 
the  sailors  on  the  Rhone.  It  was  pleasant 
to  look  at  their  happy  faces  as  they  saw 
their  wives  and  children  coming  to  meet 
them,  and  in  a  few  minutes  there  was  not 
one  of  them  to  be  seen  on  deck.  Some 
time  afterwards,  in  the  evening,  when  the 
children  had  gone  to  bed,  and  were  fast 
asleep,  my  husband  proposed  that  we 
should  go  on  shore  to  buy  a  few  trifles  we 
wanted ;  amongst  others,  this  paper  on 
which  I  am  writing  to  you.  The  weather 
was  beautiful ;  we  enjoyed  our  walk  very 
much.  We  went  through  several  streets 
where  we  met  with  civil,  obliging  people. 
At  length  we  returned  to  the  shore  to  be 
near  the  place  where  our  little  darlings 
were  sleeping.  Everything  was  quiet ;  we 


140  A    LETTER    TO    A    FRIEND. 

sat  down  for  a  little  ;  the  saloon  was  well 
lighted,  and  the  windows  shone  like  eyes 
on  the  black  sides  of  the  boat.  But  we 
would  not  have  thought  of  looking  at 
these  little  windows,  unless  we  had  known 
that  our.  dear  ones  were  there,  for  the 
^noon  and  stars  were  shining  so  brightly, 
that  they  made  every  other  light  seem  dull. 

"  Oh,  how  we  enjoyed  that  bright,  beau- 
tiful evening  !  We  thought  of  the  good- 
ness of  God,  who  had  made  that  glorious 
sky ;  we  spoke  of  the  friends  wre  had  left, 
and  of  those  we  hoped  soon  to  meet ;  time 
passed  quickly  on,  and  it  was  getting  late. 
Carlo  leaped  round  about  us,  as  if  he  wished 
us  to  go  back  to  our  home  in  the  boat. 

"But  I  hear  Harry  moving  —  he  has 
just  awoke ;  the  little  darling  will  be  hun- 
gry, for  he  has  been  sleeping  a  long  time ; 
he  is  stretching  out  his  tiny  arms  to  me  al- 
ready. I  must  finish  this,  my  dear  friend, 
with  kindest  love  from  all." 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

VIENNE CHARCOAL COALS. 

"  IF  you  wish  to  see  Vienne,  you  must 
make  haste ;  the  boat  is  to  stop  for  two 
hours  to  land  some  goods.  Are  you  ready 
to  go  on  shore  1  " 

"  Yes,  yes." 

"  Give  me  your  hand,  then,  and  we  shall 
go  up  stairs  I  Do  you  see  these  men  going 
up  and  down  ?  These  are  porters/' 

"  Are  they  not  cold  with  so  few  clothes 
on?" 

"  No,  dear,  they  would  be  cold  if  they 
were  to  sit  still,  or  if  they  walked  as  slowly 
as  we  do  ;  but  look  at  that  one  going  down 
into  the  hold  by  that  ladder." 

141 


142  VIENNE. 

"  What  is  he  going  to  do  ?  " 

"  Come  here,  and  we  shall  see.  He  has 
got  down.  Another  porter  puts  a  load  on 
his  back,  and  now  he  is  coming  up  again 
by  another  ladder  ;  he  goes  out  of  the  boat 
by  that  plank  which  rests  on  the  quay ;  he 
lays  down  his  burden  and  comes  back  run- 
ning for  another.  See,  he  is  wiping  the 
drops  of  perspiration  off  his  face  with  his 
sleeve.  He  is  very  warm. 

"  If  you  were  cold,  would  you  go  and 
sit  down  in  a  corner,  and  stay  there  with- 
out moving  ?  No,  because  you  would  get 
still  colder.  You  would  begin  to  run  like 
this  porter,  and  rub  your  hands,  and  the 
cold  would  go  away. 

"  And  now,  look  up,  what  do  you  see1?  " 

"  A  wall." 

"  We  are  too  near  this  wall,  it  hides  the 
town  from  us.  Perhaps  you  think  it  is  a 
very  small  town,  since  a  wall  like  that 
keeps  you  from  seeing  anything.  Put  your 


VIENNE.  143 

little  hand  over  your  eyes  ;  now,  look  at 
me —  do  you  see  me,  Lily  ]  " 

"  No." 

"  And  do  you  see  me,  Francis  ?  " 

"  No." 

"  Is  your  hand  bigger  than  papa  "?  " 

"  No." 

"  And  yet  it  hinders  you  from  seeing  him. 
why?  Because  it  is  quite  close  to  youi 
eyes.  Take  it  away,  and  hold  it  as  far 
away  from  your  eyes  as  you  can ;  there 
now,  keep  it  there  between  your  eyes  and 
me.  You  see  me  now,  don't  you  \  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Why  ?  Because  your  hand  is  awaj 
from  your  eyes.  Very  well,  as  soon  as  we 
go  away  from  the  wall  we  shall  see  the 
town  appear  by  degrees.  The  work  of 
unloading  is  done  now ;  see,  the  plank 
has  been  taken  away  which  allowed  the 
men  to  get  on  shore  with  their  burdens. 

"  Does  not  the  wall  look  as  if  it  were 


144  VIENNE. 

getting  smaller,  and  the  houses  as  if  they 
were  growing  larger  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes  ;  I  see  a  church." 

"  It  is  a  very  beautiful  church ;  your 
mamma  and  I  went  to  see  it  while  you 
were  at  breakfast." 

"  Were  there  many  people  in  that 
church  1 " 

"  Yes.  There  were  a  number  of 
masons  busy  repairing  it.  It  is  a  very 
long  time  since  it  was  built,  and  if  it  were 
not  repaired  it  would  soon  fall  to  ruins. " 

"  There  were  some  people,  too,  kneeling 
at  prayers.  Was  the  good  God  in  the 
church  to  hear  the  prayers  of  these  peo- 
ple r 

"  He  is  with  all  who  pray  to  him  any- 
where. If  a  little  boy  or  girl  should  pray 
to  him  in  a  boat,  a  sick  person  in  bed,  a 
shepherd  on  the  hill-side,  or  a  learned 
man  in  his  study,  he  is  with  them  all.  You 
know  that  he  is  everywhere,  but  there  is 


YIENNE.  145 

one  place  above  all  others  where  he  loves 
to  be." 

"Is  it  a  church ?" 

"  He  is  in  the  church,  because  he  has 
said  that  wherever  two  or  three  are  met  to- 
gether to  worship  him  he  is  there.  But  I 
was  speaking  of  another  place.  Do  you 
know  it ?" 

"  No." 

"  It  is  your  heart  and  mine.  It  is  God's 
will  that  men  should  build  churches  where 
they  can  meet  and  pray  together  to  him ; 
but  he  is  more  pleased  when  men  and  little 
children  give  him  a  place  in  their  hearts." 

"  Could  the  good  God  come  into  my 
heart?" 

"  Not  in  the  way  that  Lily  means,  but 
perhaps  in  some  other  way.  When  yo*> 
are  far  away  from  me,  you  have  a  place  in 
my  heart ;  that  means  that  I  think  of  you, 
speak  about  you,  and  love  you,  and  try  to 
please  you. 
10 


146  CHARCOAL. 

"  If  Lily  thinks  sometimes  that  God  is 
very  good  to  her,  because  khe  has  given  her 
a  papa  and  mamma,  brothers  who  love  her, 
clothes  and  food,  and  all  she  needs  ;  and 
that  he  has  prepared  for  her  a  bright  home 
in  the  heavens,  where  he  will  take  her  to 
live,  for  the  sake  of  what  our  Lord  Jesus 
has  done  for  her ;  if  Francis,  when  he  is 
going  to  do  something  naughty,  stops  and 
does  not  do  it  for  fear  of  displeasing  God, 
and  because  he  loves  God  so  much  that  he 
tries  very  much  to  please  him,  —  then  Lily 
and  Francis  give  him  a  place  in  their 
hearts." 

"  Where  are  we  now  ?" 

"  I  don't  know  ;  but  I  think  I  see  the 
railway  between  St.  Etienne  and  Lyons. 
We  must  be  near  Givors.  I  know  it  by 
the  grey  color  of  the  houses." 

"  Why  are  they  grey  1 " 

"  Because  they  are  covered  with  fine  coal 
dust.  There  is  a  great  deal  of  coal  in  this 
part  of  the  country." 


CHARCOAL.  147 

"I  don't  see  any." 

"  You  are  thinking  of  the  charcoal  that 
you  saw  among  the  Var  hills.  That  was 
burnt  wood,  which  is  called  charcoal,  and 
it  is  used  for  fires  where  coal  is  scarce. 
Charcoal  is  made  by  men  who  cut  down  the 
trees,  and  burn  the  wood  till  it  becomes 
black,  and  fit  for  fuel.  Coals  also  were 
once  growing  trees,  but  they  have  been 
thrown  down  and  prepared  for  burning,  not 
by  the  hands  of  mtin,  but  by  the  power  of 
God,  who,  in  his  great  goodness,  has  pro- 
vided great  stores  of  them  below  the  ground, 
that  we  may  have  good  fires  to  keep  us 
warm.  Coal  is  found  ready  for  burning, 
but  as  it  is  buried  deep  down  in  the  earth, 
men  have  to  dig  very  deep  pits  before  they 
can  find  it." 

"  There  are  two  barges  loaded  with  it." 

"  Why?" 

"  It  is  going  away  to  parts  of  the  country 
where  there  is  none  to  be  had  —  to  Valence, 


148  COALS. 

Avignon,  and  even  Marseilles.  As  a  coal 
fire  lasts  longer,  and  is  much  warmer  than 
one  of  wood,  it  is  used  in  smiths'  shops,  and 
foundries,  and  in  steamboats. 

"  I  once  went  down  to  the  bottom  of  a 
coal  pit,  where  the  miners  were  taking 
coal  out  of  the  mine." 

"  \V  hat  is  a  mine  ?  " 

"  It  is  a  bed  under  ground  from  which 
coals  are  dug,  or  in  which  iron,  copper, 
silver,  or  gold  are  found,  mixed  with  earth 
or  stones." 


CHAPTER  XX. 

THE    SHIPWRECK LYONS. 

"  How  quickly  we  are  getting  on  ! 
Should  you  like  to  know  where  we  are, 
and  how  far  we  have  still  to  go  ? 

"  We  shall  ask  this  sailor  who  is  pacing 
up  and  down  the  deck.  Will  you  be  kind 
enough  to  tell  us  the  name  of  the  village 
we  have  just  passed  ^  " 

"  It  is  Givors." 

"  Does  the  railway  not  pass  near  here  1" 

"  Yes,  sir ;  and  we  can  go  in  a  very 
short  time  to  Lyons.  Two  years  ago  I  was 
sailing  up  the  Rhone  in  a  steamer  just 
as  we  are  doing  to-day ;  our  boat  was  to 
stop  several  hours  at  Givors  to  put  out 

149 


150  THE    SHIPWRECK. 

goods,  and  being  in  a  hurry,  I  took  the 
railway,  and  in  half  an  hour  I  was  in 
Lyons.  This  is  the  second  time  I  have 
come  this  way,  and  I  hope  it  may  be  the 
last." 

"  I  thought  you  were  employed  in  this 
boat." 

" '  No,  sir ;  I  came  from  Messina.  I 
was  mate  on  board  a  brig  which  carried 
sugar  to  Venice." 

"  You  are  then  a  sailor  ?  I  had  guessed 
that  you  were ;  your  step  was  so  steady, 
that  I  said  when  I  saw  you,  That  sailor 
looks  as  if  he  were  keeping  watch.  But 
why  have  you  left  your  brig  1  " 

"  We  were  shipwrecked  in  the  Straits  of 
Messina." 

"  And  how  did  that  happen  ? " 

"  It  was  on  the  7th  of  February ;  the 
south  wind  had  driven  us  in  toward  the 
shore  ;  it  changed  in  the  night  to  the  north, 
and  drove  us  out  to  sea ;  then  it  changed 


THE    SHIPWRECK.  151 

again  to  the  south,  and  our  brig,  with  its 
sails  torn  into  ribbons,  bounded  and  whirled 
on  the  waves  like  a  spinning-top.  Sud- 
denly we  felt  a  terrible  shock  ;  the  boat  was 
on  a  sand-bank,  and  had  six  feet  of  water 
in  the  hold." 

"  Did  you  not  make  use  of  the  pumps  ? 

"  For  two  hours  we  did,  but  it  was  of  no 
use,  the  water  was  coming  in  everywhere. 
As  wave  after  wave  dashed  against  the 
sides  of  our  ship,  we  thought  it  would 
have  gone  to  pieces.  Oh,  what  a  night  it 
was !  and  so  dark.  When  the  morning 
broke,  the  brig  was  lying  on  its  side  ;  and 
as  there  was  no  hope  of  getting  her  afloat 
again,  we  hastened  to  save  the  casks  of  su- 
gar which  were  not  damaged.  We  were 
afraid  that  the  masts  would  fall  down  and 
kill  some  of  us,  but  they  stood  firm. 

"  For  seven  weeks  we  worked  without 
stopping,  to  save  the  cargo  and  the  rigging. 
The  brig  might  still  have  been  above  wa- 


152  THE    SHIPWRECK. 

ter,  if  it  had  not  been  for  a  frightful  storm 
on  the  31st  of  March;  the  north  wind 
turned  it  round,  and  instead  of  the  waves 
dashing  against  its  side  as  before,  they 
broke  over  the  deck,  beating  on  it  like  a 
drum,  and  after  a  few  hours  it  went  to 
pieces." 

"  That  was  a  most  unfortunate  accident, 
but  man  has  no  control  over  the  winds  and 
waves,  and  as  you  did  every  thing  in  your 
power,  you  have  nothing  for  which  to 
blame  yourself.  There  are  few  who  can 
say  that  when  'they  look  back  on  the  past." 

"  It  is  a  sad  thing,  however,  sir,  to  be 
obliged  to  go  back  alone,  after  having 
sailed  in  a  splendid  ship." 

"  Where  are  you  going  now  ? " 

"  To  Havre,  to  get  a  place  on  board 
another  vessel." 

"  Well  a  pleasant  voyage  to  you ;  and 
may  He  who  has  preserved  you  from  the 
fury  of  the  waves  go  with  you  always,  and 
guide  you  to  the  desired  haven." 


THE    SHIPWRECK.  153 

"  Come,  dears,  the  sailor  is  going  to 
walk  up  and  down  the  deck  again.  We 
shall  go  back  to  mamma,  and  tell  her  that 
story." 

"  What  story,  papa  ?  " 

"  The  one  the  sailor  has  just  told  us." 

"  What  did  he  say  I " 

"  You  have  not  been  listening,  then  ? 
Now,  I  remember,  you  were  looking  at 
his  sunburnt  face  all  the  time  he  was 
speaking." 

"  Papa,  I  know  what  he  said,  he  told 
us  that  there  was  sugar  in  a  ship,  and  that 
he  played  on  a  drum.  I  shall  tell  the  sto- 
ry to  mamma." 

"  He  told  us  something  more." 

"  What  was  it  ?  " 

"  That  the  ship  was  a  brig,  — that  means 
that  it  had  two  masts,  —  and  that  AC  was 
driven  on  shore  by  the  south  wind." 

"  On  the  shore  ?  " 

"  The  shore  is  the  earth  and  rocks 
round  the  edge  of  the  sea." 


154  LYONS. 

"  Fortunately  the  north  wind  began  to 
blow,  and  sent  the  brig  out  to  sea  again. 

"  Do  you  not  remember  one  of  your  fa- 
vorite games?  One  of  you  goes  to  each 
end  of  the  room,  and  rolls  a  ball  back- 
wards and  forwards.  Well,  the  north  and 
south  winds  seem  as  if  they  had  played 
like  Lily  and  Francis,  driving  the  poor  ship 
backwards  and  forwards,  just  as  if  it  were 
a  ball." 

"  Lyons  !     Lyons  !" 

"  Yes  ;  that  is  Lyons  now.  I  shall  tell 
you  the  sailor's  story  another  time.  I 
wish  to  show  you  the  town." 

"Where  is  it?" 

"  Do  you  not  see  that  white-looking 
smoke,  and  the  houses  appearing  in  the 
midst  of  it  ?  " 

"  I  see  a  very  high  tower,  too." 

"  That  tower  stands  on  a  hill.  The 
town  is  much  larger  than  it  seems  from 
here;  Your  little  feet  could  not  walk 


LYONS.  155 

from  one  end  of  it  to  the  other.  Avignon 
lies  on  the  side  of  the  Rhone,  Geneva  on 
the  shore  of  a  lake,  and  Lyons  between 
two  rivers,  which  join  just  where  we  are 
now." 

«'  A  bridge  !     A  bridge  !  " 

"  It  is  a  very  strong  one ;  the  railway 
passes  over  it.  Ah !  we  shall  pass  under 
it,  for  our  boat  is  going  to  that  side.  Say 
good-by  to  the  Rhone ;  we  are  leaving  it 
now,  and  going  into  the  Saone." 

"  That  beautiful  Rhone,  shall  we  never 
see  it  again  ? " 

"  Oh,  we  shall  see  it  on  the  road  be- 
tween Lyons  and  Geneva ! 

"  The  Saone  is  not  such  a  rapid  river  ;  it 
flows  on  more  peacefully,  because  it  does 
not  come  from  such  a  great  height  as  the 
Rhone." 

"  Papa,  what  very  large  trees  !  " 

"  These  are  chestnut  trees,  my  dear. 
How  pleasant  and  cool  it  would  be  to  sit 


156  LYONS. 

under  their  shade  in  a  hot  day,  and  to  look 
at  the  river  and  the  houses  through  the 
branches  !  These  houses  are  very  high. 

"  Some  of  these  people  look  at  us  as 
they  pass,  others  walk  on  without  paying 
any  attention.  In  large  towns  people  must 
work  hard,  and  they  have  no  time  to  idle 
on  the  way.  There  is  a  man  sitting  on 
that  bench  looking  at  us.  Oh,  he  has 
given  over  working  ;  he  has  worked 
enough  ! " 

"  Do  you  know  him  ? " 

"  Do  you  not  see  that  he  is  leaning  on  a 
stick,  and  his  hair  has  got  quite  white  I  " 

"  He  is  an  old  man." 

"  He  is  taking  a  rest,  and  thinking,  per- 
haps of  the  long  journey  which  he  will 
very  soon  have  to  take." 

"  Is  he  going  on  a  long  journey  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  dears." 

"  And  where  is  it  to  ? " 

"  To  give  an  account  to  God  for  every- 


LYONS.  157 

thing  he  has  done.  Do  you  know  what  I 
mean1?  Perhaps  not.  I  will  tell  you. 
When  I  go  away  and  leave  you  at  home,  I 
say  to  you, '  Be  good  and  tell  me  when  I 
come  hack  what  you  have  been  doing.' 
Well,  God  said  to  that  man  when  he  sent 
him  into  the  world, '  Love  me  ;  do  what  I 
tell  you  ;  be  kind  to  every  one.  In  a  few 
years  I  will  come  and  take  you  away,  and 
ask  you  what  you  have  been  doing.' ' 

"  What  has  this  old  man  been  doing  ?  " 

"  We  don't  know.  Perhaps  he  is  afraid 
to  meet  God  and  tell  him  what  he  has  done, 
and  is  asking  God  to  forgive  him.  That 
is  just  what  we  should  do,  too,  my  dears." 

"  Will  God  forgive  us  ? " 

«  Yes." 

"  But  if  we  have  been  very  wicked  ?  " 

"  If  the  most  wicked  man  asks  God  to 
forgive  his  sins  for  Christ's  sake,  God  will 
pardon  him,  and  make  him  good." 

"  And  if  people  are  very  good  1 " 


158  LYONS. 

"  They  still  need  to  be  pardoned  in  the 
same  way,  for  there  is  no  one  in  the  world 
who  has  not  sinned.  One  of  the  best  men 
that  ever  lived,  said  in  his  prayer  to  God ; 
'  Enter  not  into  judgment  with  me  ;  for  in 
thy  sight  shall  no  man  living  be  justified.' " 

"  Papa,  there  is  a  horse  galloping !  " 

"  It  has  got  behind  the  trees  which  are 
planted  on  the  quay,  and  we  cannot  see  it." 

"  There  are  soldiers  drilling  !  " 

"  There  are  carriages  driving  along ! " 

"  The  boat  has  stopped." 

"Why?" 

"  Because  we  have  come  to  Lyons." 

"  May  we   get  out  soon  ? " 

"You  must  have  patience,  and  amuse 
yourselves  by  looking  out  at  the  cabin 
windows  for  an  hour  yet.  You  shall  see 
me  pass  on  the  quay." 

"  Are  you  going  away  ? " 

"  I  am  going  to  take  places  in  the  dili- 
gence for  Geneva.  I  should  like  to  take 


LYONS.  159 

you  with  me,  but  you  could  not  walk  so 
far.  I  shall  come  back  very  soon  and 
take  you  to  the  large  coach." 

"  We  shall  weary  till  you  come  back." 
"  Well,  you  may  go  and  say  good-by  to 
the  captain,  who  has  been  so  kind  to  you  ; 
but  you  must  not  take  up  his  time  much, 
for  I  see  he  is  busy  with  his  books.  And 
then  you  can  ask  mamma  to  give  you  some- 
thing to  do." 

"  I  shall  put  my  toys  in  the  box." 

"  And  I  shall  put  my  doll  in  its  cradle." 

"  Very  well." 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE    JOURNEY    FROM    LYONS THE    LAKE    OP 

NANTUA THE    FIR   BRANCHES. 

"  PAPA,  I  am  so  tired." 

"  I  am  sure  you  are,  my  darling.  You 
have  been  four  nights  out  of  your  own 
little  bed.  And  last  night  you  hardly  slept 
at  all. 

"  Last  night,  on  leaving  Lyons,  we  saw 
heavy  clouds  in  the  sky,  and  we  said,  'We 
shall  have  rain  now,  and  the  air  will  be  a 
little  cooler.'  But  not  a  single  drop  of 
rain  fell ;  and  the  air  was  very  close  and 
stifling.  You  were  very  restless  in  your 
sleep  ;  now  and  then  you  lifted  your  weary 
little  head,  and  then  let  it  fall  again  on  my 

160 


THE  JOURNEY  FROM  LYONS.      161 

knee.  You  wanted  fresh  air,  and  I  had 
none  to  give  you.  The  windows  of  the 
diligence  were  opened,  but  dust  instead  of 
air  came  in.  See,  I  am  covered  all  over 
with  it.  Beat  the  sleeve  of  my  coat; 
that  will  do ;  do  you  not  see  what  a  cloud 
of  dust? 

"  Francis  is  waking  up.  I  don't  think 
he  knows  where  he  is.  Perhaps  he  thinks 
we  have  been  on  board  the  steamer  all 
night.  Francis,  where  are  yon  ?  " 

"  Here." 

"  In  the  boat  1  " 

"  No  ;  in  a  coach." 

"  The  little  man  has  heard  the  noise  of 
the  horses'  bells,  and  the  rumbling  of  the 
wheels,  and  then  he  sees  that  we  are  all 
crowded  in  here,  where  we  have  just  room 
for  our  feet,  and  no  room  to  run  about  as 
in  the  steamer." 

"  Where  are  we  just  now "? " 

"  Look !     Among  the  mountains.     How 
n 


162  THE    LAKE    OF    NANTUA. 

that  cool  morning  air  refreshes  our  sun- 
burnt faces.  It  looks  as  if  a  great  deal  of 
rain  had  fallen  here,  for  there  is  no  dust, 
and  we  see  on  the  road  a  great  many  little 
hollows  made  by  the  water." 

"  O  papa !  what  a  beautiful  lake  !  Is  it 
the  lake  of  Geneva  ?  " 

"  No  ;  it  is  the  Lake  of  Nantua." 

"  How  very  green  and  calm  the  water 
is!" 

"  Why  is  it  green  1 " 

"  Because  the  banks  and  hills  which  are 
reflected  in  it  are  green.  Do  you  see  that 
little  footpath  running  along  the  side  of 
the  lake  1  Now,  we  lose  sight  of  it ;  now, 
we  see  it  again,  and  at  last  it  is  lost  among 
the  trees.  Would  it  not  be  very  pleasant 
to  follow  it  through  all  its  little  windings  ? 
But  the  diligence  goe?  on  and  carries  us 
with  it." 

"  Oh,  what  beautiful  mountains.  They 
are  not  like  the  ones  at  Marseilles,  which 


THE    FIR    BRANCHES.  1(53 

are  only  rocks  without  a  blade  of  grass  on 
them." 

"  What  trees  are  these  which  I  have 
often  told  you  about  ?  " 

"  Which  ones  ?  " 

"  These  dark  green  ones,  which  look 
like  ninepins  planted  on  the  mountain." 

"  Are  these  ninepins  I  " 

"  From  a  distance  they  look  very  small, 
and  I  daresay  you  think  you  could  clear 
two  or  three  of  them  at  a  leap  ;  but  if  you 
saw  one  of  them  near,  you  would  find  that 
it  is  very  high,  and  that  you  would  need  to 
look  up  very  much  to  see  the  top  of  it. 
Some  of  them  are  higher  than  the  column 
in  the  square  at  Marseilles.  It  would  be 
only  a  great  giant  who  could  play  with 
ninepins  like  these  !  " 

"  Are  these  fir-trees  ?  " 

"  Yes,  my  dear  Francis,  these  are  fir- 
trees." 

"  Papa,  will  you  give  us  one  of  them  to 


164  THE    FIR    BRANCHES. 

plant  in  the  little  garden  which  grand- 
mamma has  made  for  us  ?  " 

"  O  my  boy  !  you  have  forgotten  what  I 
told  you,  that  these  fir-trees  are  higher 
than  houses.  But  to  please  you,  I  shall 
cut  a  branch  off  the  first  of  these  useful 
and  beautiful  trees  that  we  come  to." 

"  Will  you  go  up  the  mountain  to  get  it." 

"  Oh  not  so  far,  we  shall  find  little  ones 
growing  by  the  road-side  as  we  go  on 

"  But  I  must  get  out  of  the  coach ;  we 
have  come  to  a  steep  part  of  the  road,  and 
I  see  several  of  the  passengers  have  got 
down,  to  make  it  easier  for  the  horses  to  go 
up  the  hill." 

"  Are  you  going  to  get  our  branch  I " 

"  Yes,  Lily." 

"  Will  you  bring  me  one  too  1 " 

"  Oh,  to  be  sure  !  You  shall  each  have 
one." 

"  Papa,  papa,  we  are  leaving  you  be- 
hind ! " 


THE    FIR    BRANCHES.  165 

"  Don't  be  afraid,  dear,  I  shall  soon 
make  up  to  the  coach  again." 

"Papa  has  gone  a  little  way  up  the  hill  ; 
he  has  stopped  near  a  tree.  There  he  is 
coming  down  again;  he  is  running  as 
fast  as  he  can  to  us.  Oh,  how  delightful ! 
he  has  a  branch  in  each  hand." 

"There,  children,  there  is  a  present 
from  a  beautiful  fir-tree  to  you." 

"  Did  the  tree  tell  you  to  give  it  to  us  ?  " 

"  Trees  cannot  speak  ;  but  if  that  fir-tree 
could  speak,  I  am  sure  it  would  tell  me  a 
pretty  story  for  my  little  children." 

"  And  what  story  would  it  be  ?  " 

"  Its  own  story." 

"  Oh,  do  tell  us  it !  " 

"  Well,  when  we  get  to  the  top  of  this 
hill,  I  shall  come  and  sit  down  beside  you, 
and  make  the  fir-tree  speak.  Will  that 
do?" 

"  Yes,  that  will  be  charming  !  Are  we 
near  the  top  of  the  hill  yet  ?  " 

"  Not  quite  yet." 


166  THE    FIR    BRANCHES. 

"  These  are  very  pretty  branches  which 
you  have  given  us." 

"  Do  you  see  that  the  leaves  are  in 
rows  like  the  teeth  of  a  comb  I " 

"  Oh  yes  ;  but  these  teeth  are  not  firm. " 

"  They  bend  more  easily  than  the  feather 
of  a  pen." 

"  Papa,  I  shall  plant  my  branch  in  my 
little  garden,  and  it  will  grow  a  large  tree." 

"  I  am  not  quite  certain  of  that,  my  boy. 
There  are  some  plants  which  grow  in  that 
way,  which  have  a  great  deal  of  sap,  and 
those  whose  leaves  fall  in  autumn.  The 
fir-tree  is  not  one  of  that  kind  ;  so  your 
branch  which  is  so  straight  and  beautiful 
just  now  with  its  green  leaves,  will  be 
withered,  and  not  fit  for  anything  after  a 
few  days,  but  to  be  thrown  into  the  fire." 

"Why?" 

"  Because  it  will  not  send  out  any  more 
roots.  You  know  that  plants  get  food 
from  two  different  places,  —  from  the  air 


THE    FIR   BRANCHES.  167 

by  their  leaves,  and  from  the  earth  by  their 
roots.  A  tree  would  very  soon  die  if  we 
were  to  take  away  both  its  leaves  and  its 
roots,  just  as  a  man  would  soon  die,  if  he 
were  to  sit  down  every  day  before  a  well- 
covered  table,  without  a  mouth  to  eat  any 
of  the  good  things  on  it.  The  leaves  and 
the  roots  are  the  mouths  of  plants." 


CHAPTER  XXIi 

THE  FIR-TREE'S  STORY  —  THE  PJCNF  IS.LL  -  - 
THE  TRAVELLERS. 

"  AH  !  here  we  are  now,  at  the  tcj  of 
the  hill.  Keep  away  from  the  door  in  t,ase 
you  should  fall  out  when  I  open  it.  Now, 
we  are  all  injpur  places.  Little  Harry 'is 
smiling ;  he  looks  as  if  he  were  glad  to 
see  us  all  together  again." 

"  Now  tell  us  the  story  you  promised." 
"  Very  well.  Suppose  \ve  are  sitting 
near  the  tree  from  which  I  cut  these  pretty 
branches,  and  it  begins  to  speak  to  us. 
Here  is  what  it  says,  — - '  I  am  a  fir-tree. 
I  grow  on  the  hill.  My  leaves  are  always 
green,  and  I  am  the  largest  of  all  the 
trees  of  the  forest.  But  I  have  not  always 

168 


THE  FIR-TREE'S  STORY.  169 

been  so  big.  Some  years  ago  I  was  shut 
up  in  a  cone,  like  those  you  see  lying  on 
the  ground.' ' 

"  Where  are  they  ?     I  do  not  see  any." 

"  There  are  none  in  the  diligence,  but 
they  are  to  be  found  under  fir-trees." 

"  One  very  hot  day  this  cone  opened, 
and  a  very  small  seed  came  out,  so  small 
that  a  child  could  hide  it  in  its  little  hand. 
This  seed  was  carried  away  by  the  water 
which  came  down  from  the  hill  during  a 
storm.  Fortunately  it  came  against  a  stone 
in  its  passage,  which  stopped  it  and  shel- 
tered it.  When  the  storm  was  past,  and 
the  course  of  the  storm  was  dry,  it  found 
itself  buried  under  a  heap  of  broken 
leaves  mixed  with  earth.". 

"  Poor  little  seed !  " 

"  Oh,  it  is  not  to  be  pitied  at  all ;  that 
was  just  what  it  needed." 

"  A  few  months  after  a  little  blade  of 
grass  appeared  above  the  earth ;  that  was 
me." 


170  THE  FIR-TREE'S  STORY. 

"  Was  it  you,  papa "?  " 
"  No,  no,  it  was  the  fir-tree ;  you  must 
remember  it  is  the  fir-tree  that  is  speak- 

ing." 

"  I  was  so  very  little  at  that  time,  that 
if  you  had  passed  over  the  spot  you  could 
very  easily  have  trampled  on  me,  although 
I  cover  you  now  with  my  shade. 

"  You  see  I  have  grown  very  much  since 
that  time ;  every  year  my  head  rises  a 
little  higher,  and  my  branches  stretch  out 
round  me  like  arms.  I  live  to  a  great  age. 
Men  do  not  live  so  long  as  fir-trees.  When 
you  are  very  old,  and  hardly  able  to  walk 
or  stand  upright,  I  shall  be  quite  as  green 
and  as  straight  as  I  am  to-day.' ' 

"  Has  the  fir-tree  finished  its  story  ?  " 

"  Yes,  but  it  has  not  told  you  that  some 
day  it  will  be  cut  down." 

"  What  a  pity  !  " 

"  It  is  only  then  that  it  will  be  really 
useful ;  it  will  perhaps  be  made  into 


THE  PINE-TREE.  171 

a  mast  for  a  ship,  or  a  beam  to  hold  up  a 
roof,  or  it  will  be  sawn  into  logs  for  houses, 
or  carriages,  or  used  for  various  pieces  of 
furniture." 

"  Are  there  any  fir-trees  at  Marseilles  ?  " 

"  No,  dear.  Fir-trees  do  not  grow  in 
warm  countries  or  near  the  sea.  But 
there  is  a  tree  which  grows  on  the  hills  of 
Provence  very  like  the  fir-tree,  and  it  be- 
longs to  the  same  family.  It  is  the  pine ; 
it  is  tall  like  the  fir-tree,  and  green  too, 
and  it  bears  cones  also,  nearly  of  the  same 
shape." 

"  Papa,  tell  us  its  story." 

"  But  I  have  already  told  you  the  half 
of  it." 

"  We  should  like  better  to  hear  the  tree 
speak  1 " 

"  Well,  it  will  tell  you  the  rest  of  it. 

"  '  I  do  not  need  to  tell  you  my  name. 
You  know  me  already.  You  have  seen 
me  often  by  the  sea-shore,  and  you  have 


172  THE    PINE-TREE. 

rested  under  my  shade.  I  like  dry,  sandy 
ground.  I  look  like  a  parasol  from  a  dis- 
tance." 

"Like  my  little  parasol  ]  " 

"Yes,  Lily." 

" '  When  the  wind  blows  through  my 
branches,  people  think  they  hear  the  dis- 
tant noise  of  the  tempest.  But  the  more  I 
am  beaten  about  by  the  storm,  the  larger 
and  stronger  I  grow.  The  little  trees  round 
about  me  have  nothing  to  fear.  My  thick 
green  dress  shelters  them  from  the  cold 
winds,  quite  as  well  as  a  wall  could  do. 

"  '  You  see  that  I  am  a  useful  tree  ;  and 
I  bear  a  fruit  which  is  very  good  to  eat, 
and  tastes  very  like  hazel-nuts,  and  which 
is  often  made  into  sugar-plums.  And  my 
branches  give  to  the  poor,  who  have  no 
oil  to  put  into  their  lamps,  a  beautiful 
light  which  costs  them  nothing.' ' 

"  How  do  you  know  that  story  ?  " 

"  It  is  very  pretty.     Tell  it  again." 

"  Oh,  not  just  now." 


THE    PINE-TREE.  173 

"  Do  you  not  remember  what  the  pine 
said  to  you  ?  " 

"It  said  that  it  was  like  my  little  parasol." 

"  Why  are  fir-trees  not  like  my  parasol  ?  " 

"  Look  at  these  houses  down  in  the  val- 
ley. Are  they  like  the  houses  at  Mar- 
seilles 1" 

u  No." 

"  What  is  on  the  top  of  ours  ?  " 

"  A  terrace." 

"  There  could  not  be  a  terrace  unless  the 
roof  were  flat." 

"  Are  the  roofs  of  the  houses  flat  in  this 
part  of  the  country  I " 

"  No  ;  they  are  sloping." 

"  Can  you  tell  me  why  the  roofs  are  flat 
at  Marseilles  and  sloping  at  Bellegarde  1  " 

"  I  don't  know." 

"  Is  there  any  snow  at  Marseilles  I  " 

"  Very  little." 

"  And  here  ?  " 

"  A  great  deal." 


174  THE    TRAVELLERS. 

"  If  the  roofs  were  flat  in  this  country 
the  snow  would  be  heaped  up  on  them,  and 
would  at  last  destroy  the  houses  ;  but  as 
they  are  sloping,  it  slips  off  all  round  and 
falls  to  the  ground. 

"  Now,  do  you  understand  why  the  fir- 
trees  have  not  a  large  top  and  branches 
spread  out  like  a  parasol  ? " 

"Is  it  to  prevent  the  snow  destroying 
themr' 

"  Yes,  dear.  You  see  that  God  is  very 
good.  He  does  not  put  on  a  tree  or  any 
creature  a  heavier  load  than  it  can  bear. 
He  has  been  very  good  to  us,  for  he  has 
preserved  us  from  accident  till  now." 

"  Papa,  is  that  Geneva  down  there  ?  " 

"  No,  'it  is  Bellegarde.  A  few  hours 
more,  my  little  travellers,  and  we  shall  be 
at  Geneva." 

"  Are  we  travellers  1 " 

"  Yes,  dear,  that  is  what  people  are  called 
who  go  from  one  place  to  another.  And 


THE    TRAVELLERS.  175 

we  shall  still  be  travellers  even  after  our 
journey  to  Geneva  is  over." 

"  Why  ? " 

"  Where  were  Lily  and  Francis  five 
years  ago  ?  They  did  not  know  anything, 
or  any  person,  and  no  one  knew  them." 

"  God  has  placed  them  on  the  earth." 

"  To  live  there  always  1 " 

tt  No,  they  must  soon  leave  it.  They 
began  the  journey  when  they  came  into 
the  world,  they  are  still  going  on,  and 
they  will  come  to  the  end  of  it  when  they 
die." 

"  Papa,  what  you  said  just  now  has 
made  me  very  sad." 

"  But  it  should  not  make  you  sad.  Are 
you  not  very  happy  to  go  to  Geneva  ?  " 

"  Yes,  very." 

"  And  why  should  you  not  be  happy  to 
go  to  heaven  1 " 

"  Because  there  is  no  grandmamma 
there." 


176  THE    TRAVELLERS. 

"  Yes,  there  is  one  there  already  —  my 
mother ;  and  the  other  grandmamma  will 
very  soon  be  there  too.  I  hope  we  shall 
all  meet  there  one  day,  in  the  presence  of 
our  heavenly  Father.  We  are  all  very 
happy  in  the  prospect  of  meeting  our 
friends  at  Geneva ;  but  in  a  few  months 
we  shall  have  to  go  away  from  them  again, 
and  that  is  very  sad. 

"  In  heaven  there  will  be  no  good-by's  ; 
we  shall  not  need  to  write  to  those  we 
love,  for  after  we  have  met  there  we  shall 
be  always  together." 

"  I  wish  to  go  to  heaven." 

"But  we  shall  not  be  able  to  get  into 
heaven." 

"Why?" 

"  Because  there  is  no  door  in  the  sky." 

"  Oh,  don't  vex  yourself  about  that,  my 
boy ;  when  the  Lord  Jesus  went  up  to 
heaven,  he  said  to  his  disciples,  who  were 
sorry  at  his  going  away, '  I  go  to  prepare  a 


THE   TRAVELLERS.  177 

place  for  you,  and  when  it  is  prepared  I 
will  come  again  and  take  you  with  me,  so 
that  where  I  am  there  ye  may  be  also.  " 

"  Will  he  take  little  children  too  ?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  Because    he   loves   them.     Will   you 
not  love  this  good  Lord  Jesus  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  we  will." 
in 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

THE  LITTLE  BEGGAR  GIRL THE  FORTRESS 

OF  L'ECLUSE — SWITZERLAND. 

"  TAKE  your  places  in  the  coach,  ladies 
and  gentlemen." 

"  Come,  children,  the  guard  is  calling  us ; 
get  into  your  cage  ;  the  next  time  you 
will  have  to  get  down  again  will  be  at 
Geneva." 

"  Are  you  not  going  in  with  us,  papa  ?  " 

"  No  ;  after  leaving  Bellegarde  we  come 
to  a  steep  hill.  I  am  going  to  walk,  but  I 
shall  keep  near  the  diligence. 

"  Now  your  house  which  runs  on  wheels, 
is  off.  It  has  just  crossed  a  bridge  which 
is  much  higher  than  any  we  have  seen  on 
the  Rhone ;  the  torrent  which  rushes  on 
below  it,  has  hollowed  out  a  bed  for  itself 

178 


THE    LITTLE   BEGGAR    GIRL.  179 

amoug  the  rocks.  This  road  is  shaded  on 
both  sides  by  beautiful  walnut-trees. 

"  What  do  you  see  at  the  side  of  the 
road?" 

"  A  precipice.  It  is  so  very  deep  that  a 
cow  down  in  the  valley  does  not  look  larg- 
er than  a  goat.  I  wished  to  show  you  the 
Bhone,  but  I  can  scarcely  see  it  myself 
through  these  thick  branches  which  hang 
over  the  precipice," 

"  Don't  go  so  near,  papa !  " 

"  Don't  be  afraid  for  me.  I  am  coming 
back  to  you  immediately." 

"  Will  you  help  a  poor  little  girl  who  is 
very  hungry "?  Will  you  give  me  a  penny 
to  buy  bread  ?  " 

"  Papa,  come,  quick.  Here  is  a  poor 
little  beggar  girl  who  is  very  hungry ;  she 
has  nothing  to  eat." 

"  We  must  not  give  her  money."    . 

"  Why  ?  You  told  us  that  all  little 
children  are  our  brothers  and  sisters." 


180  THE   LITTLE    BEGGAR    GIRL. 

"  Yes,  but  that  little  girl  has  deceived 
us.  Do  you  not  see  that  her  cheeks  are 
as  round  and  rosy  as  Harry's.  That  shows 
that  there  is  no  want  of  bread  in  her 
father's  house.  She  has  even  a  little  bit 
of  bread  in  her  hand,  which  she  is  hiding 
under  her  apron." 

"  What  did  you  say  to  her,  papa  ?  She 
goes  away  hanging  down  her  head." 

"  I  have  given  her  something." 

"  You  have  not  taken  it  out  of  your 
purse." 

"  A  friend  of  the  Lord  Jesus  one  day  met 
a  man  who  was  lame.  When  he  saw  the 
poor  man  stretching  out  his  hand  to  him, 
he  stopped  and  said,  '  I  have  neither  gold 
nor  silver,  but  what  I  have  I  give  thee.' '' 

"  And  what  did  he  give  him  ?  " 

"  He  healed  him.  No  one  now  can 
give  such  good  help  to  a  poor  person  ;  but 
there  is  something  that  every  one  can  give." 

"  What  is  it  ? " 


THE    LITTLE    BEGGAR    GIRL.  181 

'*  A  kind  word.  Even  little  children 
can  give  that.  If  we  should  happen  to 
meet  a  poor  little  ragged  boy  just  now,  and 
if  he  were  to  hold  out  his  hand  to  you 
for  something,  what  would  you  do  ?  You 
have  no  money;  the  provision  basket  is 
empty,  —  Francis,  has  just  eaten  the  last 
biscuit." 

"  I  would  tell  him  that  another  day  I 
would  give  him  my  luncheon." 

"  But  you  would  not  see  him  again,  for 
the  diligence  is  carrying  us  away." 

"  Then,  I  would  tell  him  —  O  what 
should  I  say  to  him,  papa  "?  " 

"  My  friend,  the  good  God  sees  you,  and 
loves  you.  Pray  to  him.  He  will  give 
you  food,  as  he  gives  it  to  the  little  birds." 

"  Would  the  little  boy  be  pleased  with 
that  ?  " 

"  Yes,  the  poor  and  unhappy  are  pleased 
when  any  one  speaks  to  them  kindly. 

"  Here  we  are   again  among  the  moim- 


182  THE    FORTRESS    OF    I/ECLUSE. 

tains.  You  will  soon  see  one  of  the  gates 
of  France." 

"  Is  it  a  large  gate  \ " 

"  The  name  gate  is  given  to  any  nar- 
row pass  among  the  hills  between  two 
countries.  There  is  very  often  a  fort  built 
at  such  a  place.  The  one  we  are  coming  to 
is  called  the  Fort  of  Ecluse.  I  know  a 
brave  captain  who  was  shut  up  there  with 
his  soldiers  to  defend  it.  When  it  was 
attacked,  I  assure  you  that  it  would  not  have 
been  pleasant  to  be  near  this  place  ;  the 
cannons  roared  and  the  bullets  swept 
along  this  very  road. 

"  There  is  the  fort ;  it  has  on  the  right  a 
mountain,  on  the  left  another  mountain, 
and  down  there,  between  the  two,  the 
Rhone.  There  is,  then,  no  other  road 
through  the  pass  than  the  one  along  which 
we  are  driving.  See,  we  are  going  to 
pass  through  the  fortress." 

"  What  a  noise  !  " 


THE    FORTRESS    OF    I/ECLUSE.  183 

"  It  is  the  diligence  passing  over  the 
drawbridge :  there  is  one  on  the  way  in 
and  another  on  the  way  out  from  the  fort. 
If,  now  that  we  are  in,  the  drawbridge  on 
the  Geneva  side  were  to  be  raised,  we  could 
not  go  any  further,  for  we  should  be  pris- 
oners. Prisoners  would  not  be  very  ill  off 
here.  They  would  have  a  very  fine  view. 
Look !  we  can  see  a  part  of  Savoy,  and 
down  there,  at  the  bottom  of  the  pass, 
your  friend,  the  Rhone,  looks  as  if  it  were 
hurrying  to  leave  this  beautiful  country,  — 
ungrateful  river  that  it  is. 

"  But  if  we  were  really  prisoners  here 
we  would  cast  longing  looks  towards 
Geneva,  and  feel  sad  to  think  we  could 
not  get  out  when,  from  the  top  of  the 
fort,  we  could  see  through  the  clouds  the 
snowy  top  of  Mount  Blanc  and  the  other 
beautiful  mountains  round  it. 

"  But  don't  be  afraid  ;  we  are  not  going 
to  be  prisoners.  See,  we  are  out  already, 


184  SWITZERLAND. 

Fort,  cannons,  drawbridge,  everything  is 
already  far  behind  us. 

"  Postilion,  make  the  horses  go  faster  ! 
Horses,  gallop  quick  along  this  beautiful 
road ;  we  are  longing  to  get  to  the  end  of 
our  journey.  Behind  these  trees  and  these 
hills  there  are  many  eyes  looking  for  us, 
and  many  friends  who  are  asking  if  the 
dust  on  the  road  is  not  raised  by  our  dili- 
gence passing  along. 

"  It  seems  as  if  the  horses  knew  what 
was  said  ;  they  are  galloping  on ;  they 
soon  leave  the  hedges  behind  them .  The 
country  people  are  wondering  at  our  rapid 
pace  ;  they  raise  their  heads  to  look  at  us, 
but  in  a  minute  we  are  past  and  far 
away  from  them. 

"  What  a  fresh,  cool  breeze  comes  to 
bid  us  welcome  ;  it  has  passed  over  the 
snow,  —  it  has  blown  through  the  fir-trees 
—  it  has  skimmed  the  waters  of  the  lake, 
and  now  it  plays  on  our  faces  and  tosses 
about  our  hair. 


SWITZERLAND.  185 

« 

"  Children,  there  is  Switzerland  at  last ! 
We  are  entering  it  now ;  but  we  must  not 
quite  forget  France,  that  other  country 
which  we  have  come  from.  When  shall 
wo  see  it  again  "?  Ah  !  who  knows  to  what 
places  we  may  yet  be  carried]  But  it  is  a 
comfort  to  think  that,  although  we  may  be 
far  away  from  the  places  we  have  known 
and  loved,  and  even  far  away  from  our 
own  country,  we  have  a  better  country,  a 
home  in  heaven,  to  which  we  are  always 
drawing  nearer.  Still,  in  whatever  part 
of  the  world  we  may  pitch  our  tent,  our 
hearts  will  never  lose  sight  of  the  towers 
of  St.  Pierre,  to  which  we  are  going,  or  of 
the  rocks  of  Provence,  which  we  have  left 
behind. 

"  Our  homes  on  earth  are,  after  all,  only 
resting-places  for  a  short  time.  We  must, 
sooner  or  later,  leave  them  all.  Let  us 
often  think  of  our  home  in  our  Father's 
house  above,  and  like  the  good  people  long 


186  SWITZERLAND. 

ago,  of  whom  we  read  in  the  Bible,  let  us 
live  '  like  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  earth, 
desiring  a  better  country,  that  is  an  heav- 
enly.'" (Heb.  xi.  13-16.) 


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